Trust
by SplendentGoddess
Summary: Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see. But if we cannot trust our own eyes, then whom can we trust? Inuyasha had thought that he could trust Kagome, until she betrayed him in the cruelest of ways. Or did she?


Blanket Disclaimer:

Inuyasha, and the characters therein, are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I am in no way affiliated with Takahashi, or VIZ Productions.

Winner! 2nd Place for Best Drama & 2nd Place Tie for Best In-character (Inuyasha) Feudal Association 1st Quarter 2012

~ Trust ~

Pausing in her trek through the midnight forest, the miko took a moment to glance around her position in the trees. The world was quiet, too quiet, even for one such as her.

_I sense Naraku's presence on the wind_… Kikyou thought, closing her eyes and concentrating.

It didn't take long to find what she was looking for.

_I should have known…it is not so unusual to sense Naraku on the wind, after all, when he has reincarnated himself as the very element itself_…

"I know you are there, Kagura." she stated matter-of-factly then, gesturing with a raised hand for her shinidamachuu to take to the trees and protect themselves from the wind witch's powers.

Emerging from her hiding place, Kagura tapped her closed fan against an open palm.

"My my, but are you a powerful one." she stated conversationally. "I can almost understand what Naraku sees in you."

Raising an eyebrow, Kikyou regarded the woman before her emotionlessly, knowing there had to be a reason why she was there. It was no secret that Kagura did not care for her, so it had to be under orders from Naraku that she had made the journey.

"And just what is it that your master wants this time?" she asked the kaze-youkai, seeing no point in humoring the situation with seemingly casual pleasantries.

"Oh, not much." Kagura replied with a shrug, popping open her fan. "Hold still now. Don't worry, I'm actually under orders not to kill you, otherwise I would have _no _problem finishing where Naraku left off."

With those words she swung her fan in the direction of the undead miko, releasing a smaller and more precise string of wind blades at a much faster speed than Kikyou had been aware the wind-incarnate was capable of, the undead miko barely having time to react by throwing up a purifying barrier almost too late, the first of Kagura's blades striking true. Though she gave no outward expression that revealed her shock, she was in truth astonished by the accuracy of Kagura's strike, as she felt her wind blades graze her temple, cutting off a few locks of hair.

Having no clue what Naraku was up to but also having no intention of finding out, Kikyou quickly pulled and notched an arrow from her quiver, lowering her barrier as she channeled the energy into her arrow, firing the purifying missile at the dark hanyou's incarnation. Kagura easily deflected the holy projectile, though, a simple flutter of her fan creating enough wind to knock Kikyou's arrow off course and cause it to sail harmlessly past to imbed in a tree.

"Now that isn't being very cooperative." Kagura mock-scolded, adding for good measure, "I thought you _wanted_ to assist Naraku in his plans to thwart Inuyasha and Kagome."

Furrowing her brow in thought, Kikyou didn't have time to worry about deciphering Kagura's meaning when the wind-youkai immediately launched another attack unannounced, one blade of jyaki successfully nicking her cheek and removing a slice of clay from her face as she dodged. Raising her barrier back up around herself, Kikyou silently cursed her present condition of being mildly low on souls, which equated to being lower on energy than she would have liked. At full strength she could maintain a purifying barrier around herself while simultaneously firing purifying arrows, but until she acquired additional souls she could presently only do one or the other, having lost a great deal of her reserves in a recent battle she'd fought against a horde of forest oni that had seemingly come out of nowhere. Of course she had been victorious, but not without the mild cost of losing some of her reserve power. Deciding in that moment not to attempt attacking Kagura again, knowing her arrows were useless against one who could control the wind, she chose to leave her barrier up, all the while wondering if the wind youkai or perhaps Naraku himself had led those oni to her those few days prior, deliberately causing her current weakened state to better assist Kagura in this moment.

Resisting the urge to raise her hand to her cheek to assess the damage of Kagura's latest strike, Kikyou already knew from personal experience that the false shell that was her body could regenerate and repair minor fractures or other such damage of this nature, and so the injury, while perhaps unsightly, was both painless and temporary. She had not been injected with any sort of poison or other substance, so there was no logical reason why nicking her with such close calls would aid Naraku. Just what did Kagura hope to prove by showing off her marksmanship skills? She had not come here of her own volition merely to release her frustrations because she had specifically said that she was under orders not to kill her, meaning it was in fact under the command of her master that she was there at all. Considering the woman's last words, Kikyou couldn't help but to wonder if the statement had been meant as a sarcastic taunting, or a more serious warning. Kagura did have the tendency to speak in riddles, the kaze-youkai's own agenda to ultimately aid in Naraku's demise being no secret to the inu-tachi and their allies.

Knowing the wind witch would not strike her down as she turned her back, Kikyou unhesitantly glanced behind herself at the sudden sound of buzzing, noting with two raised eyebrows as a saimyousho collected her fallen pieces of hair and skin.

"Well, it's been fun, but I gotta fly." Kagura stated then, pulling a feather from her hair and tossing it up to become her airborne canoe.

And then she was gone, Naraku's saimyousho following swiftly behind.

_Just what are you plotting this time, Naraku? _

Heeding Kagura's hidden message, she headed for her sister's village to warn Inuyasha and her reincarnation of the dark hanyou's latest trickery.

oooOOOoooOOOooo

"Ku ku ku…excellent work, Kagura. You have made your master proud." Naraku stated, harmlessly placing the wind-youkai's heart back within the jar in which he kept it. This time, the woman deserved to receive no punishment, having executed his assignment to satisfactory levels.

"Just what do you need with Kikyou's hair and skin, anyway?" Kagura asked, unable to mask her curiosity as Naraku retrieved said items from his hell wasp, tying a single strand of Kikyou's hair around the piece of clay from her face before dropping that along with the other hairs into the concoction he was already in the process of brewing.

"You will see soon enough." he stated evasively, for once in a good enough mood that he didn't even bother punishing Kagura for questioning him out of line.

This latest plan was brilliant, ensured to succeed no matter the variable. He would rip Kagome and Inuyasha apart forever, emotionally at the very least if not physically, though that was a strong possibility, and with the hanyou's faith in others irreparably shattered, killing him and the others would be an easy task, with the group no longer able to function properly as a whole. This plan had taken weeks to come to fruition. He knew that Inuyasha and Kagome were the key, the heart of the inu-tachi, and that Miroku and Sango would be easy prey once their leaders were out of the way. He had to be more creative than he had been in the past when it came to dealing with those two; he could not simply take each of their forms and trick them so simplemindedly as he had previously done with Inuyasha and Kikyou. Fooling the hanyou and miko fifty years ago had been easy because deep down inside, mistrust and suspicion had already resided in each of their hearts to begin with, but when it came to Inuyasha these days and Kikyou's reincarnation, Naraku knew that the inu-hanyou's trust in Kagome was far too great to ever believe that the future-born miko would turn against _him_. Kagome, on the other hand, he knew he could not trick at all. To even attempt to do so would be pointless and a waste of time and energy, but that was the genius of his plan. He didn't _have _to trick Kagome. In fact, he was counting on her seeing right through his deception. He also wouldn't have to kill her, which was fortunate since he was secretly unsure of whether or not he could even do so, what with the girl being Kikyou's reincarnation. He also doubted that the inu-hanyou would actually strike her down, but ideally she would return to her own time forever, and if so that would be just as good as dead as far as his plans for Inuyasha and the jewel were concerned. So long as she was out of his way, that was all that mattered. In the end she would cease to exist, regardless, because once he had the completed Shikon no Tama and established his ruled over all of Japan, the future Kagome had come from would cease to exist. But even if Inuyasha ultimately decided to keep the future-born miko in their group because of her ability to sense and purify the jewel shards, Naraku knew that the inu-hanyou's unwavering trust and faith in the girl would forever be tainted, and when his trick was eventually revealed then it would merely be guilt instead of a feeling of betrayal that would destroy the inu-hanyou from the inside out, as it finally dawned on him that _he _was in truth the betrayer. Even if he told himself he could still trust Kagome, then, by that time Kagome would no longer trust _him_. The damage would be done. No matter how you looked, Naraku knew his plan was pure genius, and guaranteed to succeed one way or another.

"Are you ready?" he asked Kanna as the void-youkai silently entered the room.

Holding up her mirror in answer, Naraku smirked at what he could sense lied trapped within. Her task had been one of the most time-consuming, needing to work stealthfully and in remote locations so as not to arouse anyone's suspicions. Especially not anyone who might contact the inu-tachi. He had made sure that all of the villages that knew of the heroes and would call upon them for aid had been left alone.

Another youkai entered the room shortly after the ghostly girl, meandering towards its master with a sack slung over what passed for a shoulder. This creature was not one of Naraku's incarnations, but merely one of the lowly insectoids the dark hanyou had working under his employ.

"It is done." the creature garbled, dropping an old, unearthed set of burnt human bones along with the dirt they had been buried in into the brew his master was cooking.

"Very good." Naraku stated then, gesturing to the open doorway. "Go, you have your next assignment. Inform the others it is time."

Wordlessly, the beast departed, prepared to die with honor to please its master.

oooOOOoooOOOooo

It was a peaceful morning in Kaede's village. Watching over the Bone Eater's Well, Inuyasha sat lounging in the shade of a nearby tree as he waited for Kagome to return from her time. As tranquil as the inu-hanyou appeared, though, in truth he was anxious to get back out on the road again.

There had been no sign of Naraku in recent weeks, and Inuyasha was _sure _the dark hanyou just had to be up to _something_. He had given his word, though, that he would allow Kagome to return on her own, so he wouldn't break that promise by going to fetch her now, no matter how anxious he was. The miko deserved to be able to enjoy a peaceful breakfast with her family before having to depart again for the perilous journey that was her mission in his time. In truth, Inuyasha still found it amazing, at times, that her family even let her go with him at all, knowing the dangers that she sometimes faced. But the way Kagome had explained it to him, being a shrine family, her mother and grandfather were both strict believers in fate and karma, and so it was accepted that her mission in the past was a holy quest blessed by the kami. How many young girls from the 21st century were born with ancient, sacred jewels within their bodies? Kagome had been specifically hand chosen by the gods as a holy warrior to defeat a terrible force of evil, or so her grandfather looked at it, and so therefore her family not only approved of allowing her to flutter off into the past and risk her life on a near daily basis, they had never been more proud of her for doing so.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha knew he would never really understand Kagome's family, but the fact that they let her travel with him, and more specifically than just her mission in his time but the fact that they let her travel with _him_, really meant a lot to the inu-hanyou. How many young girls, from any century, were allowed to consort with half-demons?

Said half-demon was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of a terrified scream coming from within the village. It was faint, but to his hanyou ears it was loud and clear.

Immediately abandoning his vigil over the Bone Eater's Well, Inuyasha took off like a bat out of hell into the heart of town, quickly meeting up with Miroku and Sango who informed him of the swarm of insect-youkai similar in appearance to Naraku's minions that were beginning to devour the village's crops. The slayer and monk had been on their way to fetch him when he had met them halfway at the sound of that frightened scream. So far nobody was hurt, though, and for that they were all counting their blessings. Everyone had been ordered to stay indoors, while Kaede stood guard to protect the villagers until Miroku and Sango returned with Inuyasha.

Quickly arriving on scene, the inu-hanyou cursed under his breath. These guys were _definitely _Naraku's; the dark hanyou's stench was all over them. But what were they doing just trampling through the crops like normal brainless youkai tended to do? Had they been released from their master, no longer needed? Quickly deciding to worry about that later, they knew that no matter what the reason behind these youkai's appearance, they couldn't just let them continue on. Little Shippou arriving on scene quickly had Kaede departing back to her hut with the boy in tow, assuring the inu-tachi that she would watch over the child, who was insisting that he could 'help' though it would be far better for everyone to not have to worry about his safety during the fight. Miroku thought at first that he would just suck all of the youkai up in his kazaana and be done with it, since he did not sense a jewel shard among them, but upon releasing his air rip a swarm of saimyousho also appeared on scene, causing the monk to curse under his breath and quickly rewrap his wind tunnel. It would appear these youkai were not abandoned and fending for themselves, after all.

"Naraku, just what are your intentions?" Miroku thought aloud as he and his companions continued to fight off the masses of slithering, scaly beasts.

Inuyasha could not release his Kaze no Kizu so close to the village, so the task of taking these youkai out was more daunting than what would normally be the case. He was still doing a fairly good job of taking out multiple youkai at a time, though it was starting to get a little frustrating with just how many more youkai kept on appearing in their place.

"There's no end to them!" he shouted over the ruckus.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango shouted next, letting her weapon fly for the dozenth time. Mentally agreeing with Inuyasha's observation, it took the slayer a few minutes to realize that despite being time consuming, taking the insects out was proving to be a relatively easy task. She was beginning to develop the sinking suspicion that they were purposefully being kept busy.

_I hope Kagome-chan does not choose this precise moment to return, with none of us able to go to the well to warn her_… The slayer feared that Naraku might be keeping them distracted in order to kidnap Kagome upon her arrival.

"Inuyasha, what about Kagome-chan?" Sango called out then, knowing she couldn't keep such a worry to herself for fear that it was actually grounded.

"I can't leave you guys to these monsters alone!" Inuyasha argued, refusing to abandon his friends and all of the villagers for the few minutes it would take him to retrieve the future-born miko. If they _needed_ Kagome's help to defeat the youkai that would be one thing, and he would have no problem quickly running to fetch the girl no matter if she was finished with her breakfast or not, but so far it did not look as if they needed Kagome's assistance in order to ensure their victory in this battle, though taking _himself _out of the fight, even for a moment, could very easily shift the balance.

Pausing for the briefest of moments to sniff the air, he smiled and then added, "Besides, the wind is coming from the direction of the well, so I'll be able to tell it the second she gets back. So far she's still in her time and so long as she's there she's safe."

It had crossed Inuyasha's mind at Sango's words that Kagome could perhaps be in danger if she were to return to their time unguarded, but taking a deeper sniff revealed there was presently no trace of any of Naraku's youkai in the direction of the well. No, all of their enemies were directly before them, and so therefore the clearing of the well was safe, for now. He would be sure to keep his nose turned in that direction, though. The instant Kagome emerged he would fly towards her like the hounds of hell themselves were on his heels and snatch her up before any of Naraku's monsters had a chance to do so.

_Stay in your world a little while longer, Kagome_… he thought as he released another mild blast from Tessaiga, cursing his inability to use his full strength while so close to the village. _Stay where I know you're safe_.

oooOOOoooOOOooo

Jumping into the well with her backpack hooked over her shoulders, Kagome was looking forward to getting back out on the road again. There hadn't been any sign of Naraku in the last few weeks and she was beginning to get just as anxious as Inuyasha was to face off against the dark hanyou again. Still, that had not hindered her ability to enjoy breakfast with her family before heading out. She hadn't been home on holiday, having had an important science test she'd needed to take at school, but that didn't mean she didn't want to at least try and salvage whatever few small moments of normalcy with her family that she could, and she was glad that Inuyasha had allowed her the morning uninterrupted.

_Ahh, a full belly sure feels good_…

Of course, a full belly also made the pending task of climbing out of the Bone Eater's Well by herself a bit more tedious; Kagome was quick to notice that there didn't appear to be a red-clad hanyou at the top of the well to greet her.

"Inuyasha? Hello?" she called up.

_Hmph…oh well, I can't just expect him to sit by the well waiting for my return as if he doesn't have a life without me_… she thought after a moment, building herself up for the task at hand.

Hoisting herself out of the well a few minutes later, Kagome dusted herself off and glanced around the clearing, noting the peaceful atmosphere. Perhaps everyone was just visiting with Kaede. Inuyasha wasn't _always _at the well to greet her, after all. There had been other times when she had had to climb out of the well by herself and meet up with the others back in Kaede's hut. True, it was a little odd that Inuyasha was not there to meet her that particular morning, since he had seemed more than a little reluctant to grant her her morning peace and had implied that they would all be ready to go the very _instant _she returned, but something could have come up. It wasn't that big of a deal.

She was just about to head towards the village when a splash of red through the trees in the other direction caught her attention.

"Oh, Inuyasha, there you…" _…are…_ _Oh… _Clearing her throat, Kagome tried to school her features. "Hello, Kikyou." she greeted friendlily.

"Kagome…" the undead miko acknowledged in return with a slight bow of her head.

Glancing around nervously, Kagome was even more confused that there was no sign of Inuyasha with Kikyou present. Of course, her preincarnation's appearance _did _more or less explain why Inuyasha had not been by the well, but if Kikyou was _here_ now, then where was he?

"Have you seen Inuyasha this morning?" Kagome asked in what she hoped was a normal, conversational tone of voice.

"My business with Inuyasha is my own." Kikyou answered in a clipped tone.

Clearly taken aback, Kagome tried to keep her temper, knowing it was not her place to go off on the woman. _Sheesh, I'm trying to be nice here! For sharing the same soul you'd think that she'd…wait…_

And that was when she realized it, what she could feel, or rather, _couldn't _feel.

Approaching where Kikyou stood more cautiously, then, Kagome made a show of glancing around their position.

"Kikyou…where are your shinidamachuu? You don't want to get caught without them, you know." Her tone was deceptively concerned.

Kikyou narrowed her eyes. "Is that a threat?"

Kagome rolled _her_ eyes. "_No_…" she replied with more than a hint of attitude. "I'm just wondering where they are, since they are always wherever _you _are." she emphasized.

"Watch your tongue." Kikyou replied harshly. "No copy of mine shall be permitted to talk down to me in such a way."

_She still hasn't answered the question_… Kagome noted, not that it mattered.

Deciding to change subjects, she asked, "So what brings you out here, anyway?"

"That is not your concern."

"It is since you're here talking to me, so it's clearly _me _that you're here to see, which _makes _it my concern. I have a right to know what you're up to."

Kikyou raised an elegant eyebrow at that, the faintest of amused smirks forming on her lips.

"And just what makes you presume that I am 'up' to anything?" she countered.

Casually dropping her backpack to the ground as if it were getting heavy, Kagome knelt and tried to act natural as she reached inside, as if absentmindedly multitasking because of something she'd just remembered, until she found what she was really looking for, rising to her feet while flipping open and holding in a defensive stance her pocketknife.

"How about the fact that you're not Kikyou?" she answered matter-of-factly then.

Ever since the real Kikyou had been resurrected into her false body of soil and bones, a body that needed to constantly feed on the souls of others in order to survive, there were two things that Kagome had come to associate with the shell of the woman who had once been her preincarnation. One, Kikyou was _never _voluntarily without her shinidamachuu…it was just too risky for her, although Kagome did reluctantly suppose it was plausible that the undead miko could be without them for temporary intervals at a time. Their absence alone would not have been the deciding factor. No, the main kicker here was association number two. When it came to the _real _Kikyou, or at least as real as Kikyou was those days, Kagome could unwaveringly sense her own soul coming from within the artificial woman. Almost like the unconscious and unexplainable link between identical twins, but even more powerful, Kagome could always feel it whenever Kikyou was near, as if the very soul the two of them shared longed to be fused back together. Kagome had every confidence that she could call back the remaining portion of her soul within herself, thus 'killing' Kikyou, as she had nearly done on that fateful day back when the newly resurrected miko had escaped with barely enough of her soul to maintain herself, but Kagome would of course never do such a thing, because she was not a murderer, and in a sense that would be like murdering Kikyou all over again. The woman never should have been brought back to life in the first place, but since she _had _been, Kagome could not, in good conscience, be the one to reverse that happenstance.

The puppet standing before her, though, was _not _Kikyou. She knew that as assuredly as she knew herself. She felt no connection from the woman whatsoever, no hint of that missing piece of herself that _always_ vibrated against her very being whenever the two miko got this close. Whoever this woman was, she had never been Kikyou, and the fact that she was pretending to be immediately filled Kagome with dread.

"Just what has Naraku commanded you to do?"

There was nobody else that she knew of who would bother with the task of constructing the illusion that stood before her.

Kikyou smirked, both pleased by the question as well as the sight of Kagome arming herself. Without her arrows, she had been unsure whether or not Kagome had a backup weapon. This made things so much easier.

"I was right…" she purred then, seeing no point in denying the truth one moment longer. "There's just no fooling you, Kagome."

Her voice was still the same, still Kikyou's, but yet at the same time it was _completely _different as those words dripped from her evil smile. And then Kagome knew…

"Naraku." she hissed, tightening her grip on her knife.

The Kikyou doll standing before her wasn't an incarnation of some sort, it was literally a doll, a puppet just like Naraku's own, and wherever the dark hanyou was hiding, he was the one pulling the strings.

"Do you like it?" the Kikyou doll asked then, gesturing to her very being as if the two of them were girlfriends and she was showing off a new dress. "I doubt even Inuyasha will be able to tell the difference. Only you, with that pesky connection you two share, could ever have figured it out." Naraku explained, basically admitting that he was aware all along that such a puppet wouldn't fool her, aware of Kagome's ability to sense her soul within the real Kikyou.

Narrowing her eyes, an incredible wave of protectiveness bubbled up within Kagome's heart at his words. Not at the admission that he'd known he couldn't fool her, but that she was the _only _one he couldn't fool, even Inuyasha being susceptible to the glamour. So…Naraku had created a false Kikyou to manipulate Inuyasha in some way, and wherever the inu-hanyou was right now…kami she hoped she wasn't already too late…the puppet was here to see _her _because she was the only one standing in Naraku's way. Amazingly, she felt no fear for her own well-being at that realization. Not when she knew that Inuyasha was depending on her, whether he knew it or not. She gained hope from the way Naraku had phrased his belief that Inuyasha _will _be fooled by the illusion, meaning that whatever his plans were, he hadn't executed them yet. Probably wanted to get her out of the way first, to be on the safe side.

_Well I won't go down so easily! _

"Whatever you're plotting, I won't let you succeed." she stated then, praying this puppet didn't have the ability to morph and shoot out tentacles. Something told her that it did not, though. Those puppets, according to Inuyasha, always reeked of the dark hanyou's scent. If this doll before her was meant to fool Inuyasha then it had to be nearly identical in construction to Kikyou's true body, with no infusion of Naraku's own essence. How Naraku was controlling it without that bond, or how the doll had been infused with _Kikyou's _essence, she would worry about later.

_First stop Naraku and save Inuyasha, and then we'll go make sure the real Kikyou is okay_…

Nodding her head to herself in determination, then, Kagome charged her miko powers into the dagger in her hand, grateful she wasn't unarmed though she _really _wished she had her arrows. Still, she would do whatever she needed to do to protect Inuyasha, her own safety be damned. It would be difficult, but not impossible. She just had to be quick, physically. She wasn't worried about the spiritual side of things. Constructed from tangible materials or no, she knew that since it was Naraku's magic holding that doll together her powers would be able to take it down.

The Kikyou puppet chuckled at the sight of the future-born miko looking like she was getting ready to strike, raising her hand and gesturing in some way that Kagome didn't understand though she didn't have time to worry about it.

"You really think you can stop me? I will have your hanyou eating out of the palm of my hand." Naraku taunted then to excuse the gesture in Kagome's mind, his words implying he truly believed the miko was powerless to stop him.

She snapped.

"No!" Kagome shouted, charging towards the puppet. "I won't let you hurt Inuyasha!"

Rapidly approaching where Kikyou stood with her knife held at the ready, Kagome was too pumped up with adrenaline to notice or wonder why the false Kikyou didn't even bother trying to defend herself.

"You're too late." Kikyou's voice whispered faintly so as not to be overheard, a mere fraction of a second before Kagome's dagger plunged deep into the golem's chest, where the heart would normally be. Kikyou's last word, meant only for Kagome's ears, was "Perfect." as her lips curled up into a satisfactory smile, and then her body disintegrated, Kagome's purifying energies easily destroying the clay shell that had been forged from youkai magic as Kikyou's likeness collapsed into dust like a staked vampire, freeing several previously trapped souls that peacefully floated up into the sky.

That unexpected sight was not as shocking to Kagome as the sound of the horror-stricken gasp that came from behind her.

oooOOOoooOOOooo

Keeping vigil over the entire scene from her position floating way too high for any of the people as small as ants down below to notice her, Kagura wore a troubled expression, secretly hoping that Naraku's plan would not be successful. She knew her greatest chance at freedom was for Kagome and Inuyasha, as well as their other allies, to all work together to defeat her master, and if the hanyou and miko were broken apart so irreparably then surely all would be lost as far as the inu-tachi's ability to destroy Naraku was concerned. If the dark hanyou's plan was completely successful, there wouldn't even _be _an inu-tachi after this day. But despite her personal thoughts on the matter Kagura knew it would mean a very painful death if she purposefully did anything to thwart Naraku's plans, and so therefore she kept up her end of the bargain flawlessly, manipulating the air currents so that the breeze bypassed the clearing of the well before swirling around to seemingly come from that direction before reaching Inuyasha's nose, allowing the inu-hanyou to believe that his miko had not yet arrived.

Kagome's miko senses weren't as finely tuned as they would have been had she been born and raised in their time and received proper training from childhood, so since none of them were in possession of a jewel shard the miko could not feel the low-level youkai her companions were battling less than a kilometer away. More air current manipulation also ensured that the sounds of battle did not reach her limited, human ears, and since Inuyasha already knew that the breeze was coming from the direction of the well, he did not think it odd that as the wind got stronger, amplified by their releases of energy, it continued to travel in that direction, away from the well. He didn't even notice.

Seemingly ignoring her silent companion, Kagura was in fact very aware of the void-youkai that sat before her on the other end of her feather, Kanna gazing faithfully into her empty mirror, which was showing her a close-up of Naraku's Kikyou puppet so that she would see his signal when their master had deemed it was time. Receiving said signal, Kanna immediately informed Kagura of such, and momentarily jarred out of her thoughts by the unexpected sound of Kanna's voice saying simply, "Now.", Kagura didn't hesitate to hold up her end of the bargain. She wanted very much so to remain alive.

Quickly shifting the winds, she allowed both Kagome and Kikyou's scents to reach Inuyasha's nose, and as predicted, the inu-hanyou immediately froze in his battle against the low-level insects, cursing under his breath and immediately taking off for the well. Unbeknownst to him, the others were left to blink in confusion when immediately upon his departure the remaining insect youkai all slithered away, their mission complete.

It didn't take them long to realize something wasn't right.

"Kirara, stay here just in case the youkai come back."

Receiving a meow of acknowledgement from her feline companion, Sango quickly followed after Miroku, following after Inuyasha.

oooOOOoooOOOooo

_Damn it, Kagome, couldn't you have stayed away just a little longer? _Inuyasha cursed to himself as he rapidly approached the well, not knowing that there were plenty of insects set to continue arriving on scene until such time that Kagome returned, even if she _had_ taken longer.

_And why is Kikyou here? _he quickly worried next, pushing his feet to fly even faster because if Kikyou had actually come to the village then it had to be because she had news of Naraku. The insect-youkai probably _were _a diversion, then, but a diversion for what?

"No!" he heard Kagome shout, and the unexpected hatred in her tone rattled his soul. Just what was happening?

He burst into the clearing of the well just in time to have his heart burst out of his chest at the unexpected, _unfathomable _scene of horror that played out before him.

"I won't let you hurt Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted with her pocketknife held in a tight grip, glowing blue with her miko powers.

She was already charging at Kikyou, already closing the final distance between past and future before Inuyasha could even think to breathe, let alone shout out any sort of a command to stop. Then she did it, plunging her blade deep into Kikyou's chest, and the undead miko's body, having been forged from youkai magic, crumbled to dust, releasing her trapped souls. The scent hit Inuyasha like a ton of bricks, as if all the weight of Kikyou's fallen body had landed directly on top of him. Graveyard soil and human bones, connected to which lied the lingering trace of what had once been Kikyou's natural scent. That…that really had been Kikyou. He didn't want to believe it, and inhaled again, almost gagging as his nose confirmed for him the impossible. Kagome's sweet scent hit his nose at the same time, but he could find nothing soothing about the future-born miko's fragrance in that moment as he unknowingly held his breath, until a horror riddled gasp finally wrenched itself from his throat as the burning in his lungs urged him to take in air, to not let himself follow Kikyou in death just yet.

That had been what Kagome had meant, wasn't it? About Kikyou not 'hurting' him? She and Kagome must have gotten into an argument about his vow to join the undead miko in hell. Kikyou must have reiterated to Kagome her belief in her rightful possession of Inuyasha's life and soul, and how she would ultimately be taking him with her into the afterlife and there was nothing Kagome could do about it.

Inuyasha would under normal circumstances have found grounds to argue that point, himself, because he had only ever said that he would go with Kikyou if that was their fate, that if he _died _then of course he would follow her into the afterlife. The time he had told Kikyou yes he wanted to stay with her in that moment right then and there she had tricked and bewitched him; he had neither intended nor desired to die at that time, and had been unaware of the undead miko opening the portal to Hell beneath their feet. Later, when he had said the words to Kaede that he would follow Kikyou to Hell if that were her wish, he had meant after the defeat of Naraku.

But while those were all points he would have expressed had he been given the opportunity, such was not the case as Kagome had just stolen that from him, and so…so much more. So what if Kikyou had boasted about dragging him into Hell? That was his decision! Kagome had no right! How could she?

_**How could she? **_

"How **could** you!" he wailed then, eyes still wide, still unable to fully grasp the gravity of what he had just witnessed. It _couldn't _be real, but yet, it was. The future-born miko's eyes in that moment said it all.

Kagome, meanwhile, was having a mental meltdown of an entirely different nature.

_Oh god oh god oh god, I fell for it! Fuck! _the normally clean-mouthed miko mentally swore, immediately realizing Naraku's true plan now that it had come to play. Quickly. She had to fix this. Quickly.

"Inuyasha it was a trick!" she rushed out. "Naraku-"

"No!" he interrupted, anger boiling over to the point where he was not willing to hear her pointless, painful excuses or apologies. "I don't give a fuck _what _Naraku has to do with this!" he shouted irrationally, blinded by the pain in his heart. "What? He _tricked _you into murdering Kikyou? Well you still fucking murdered her! Even Kikyou never killed _me _after Naraku tricked us, with her believing I had attacked her. People look at it like she did but she really didn't. She sealed me because she couldn't bear to strike the deathblow! Looks like you really _are _a cheap imitation if you lost her sense of honor and loyalty!"

Kagome gasped, tears stinging her eyes though her pain was not really her own. Yes his words had hurt, a lot, but despite that she _knew _the pain he was experiencing in that moment far outweighed her own, and knowing who was truly at fault here, she refused to blame him. His words were understandable, all things considered. She had to make him understand!

"It wasn't-"

"What part of shut the fuck up don't you understand?" he ground out, slowly stalking up to her position. He refused to regret the hurtful words he'd just uttered, even though the sound of Kagome's shocked gasp had caused his ears to pin flat to his head.

Hesitantly, Kagome took an uneasy step backwards at Inuyasha's predatory advance, the look of fury in his eyes giving her pause. He would never really hurt her, would he?

_Then again, I did 'murder' Kikyou, so does that mean he's honor bound to avenge her…?_

Gulping, Kagome took another step back.

Inuyasha stopped a few feet away, closing his eyes and breathing heavily through his mouth. He had inhaled through his nose once more but Kikyou's scent was stronger now that he was closer to her remains and he had to get a hold of himself, plus the scent of fear coming off of Kagome was more than a little unsettling. She had never feared him, not even from day one, but in that moment he couldn't rightfully say that she didn't have grounds to fear him or what he might do. He was afraid, himself.

_I…I can't hurt Kagome, but she just…I…I can't do this any more_.

"Get the fuck out of here." he ground out then through clinched teeth, snapping his eyes open to pierce her very soul. Kagome gasped again at the absolute hatred she saw in his gaze, almost surprised his eyes didn't flash to red.

"Inuyasha…" she tried again, hoping, praying.

"Go!" he roared, carelessly flinging a hand in the direction of the well, thankful for its presence. He needed her gone before he lost it. He couldn't think with the mixed scents of her fear and Kikyou's remains causing his instincts to war with one another. "Get the fuck out of my sight and don't ever come back!"

She hesitated for only one second longer and suddenly he raised his hand at her, claws poised to strike, though he told himself he wasn't actually going to do it, just needing to get her to move. Thankfully it worked as she immediately screamed before turning and running for the well, leaving her backpack on the ground beside it in her haste to jump into the portal and put five hundred years between herself and the vengeful hanyou.

Of course it was at around that time that the others arrived on the scene, but they were not so quick to jump to conclusions at the sight of Inuyasha seemingly attacking Kagome and her running away from him terrified.

_By the kami, what has happened here? _Miroku thought in horror, quickly noticing the pile of red and white clothing near where Inuyasha stood.

Neither Sango nor Miroku were prepared for the sight of pain in Inuyasha's eyes as he turned to glance their way, tears visibly traveling down his cheeks.

"Inuyasha…?" Sango spoke up hesitantly, figuring the man might be less likely to reject the comforting touch of a woman as she slowly approached his position, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder. "Inuyasha?" she asked again, the rest of the question needing no words.

"What are you guys doing here?" he countered quietly, trying desperately to ignore his own pain for the moment. "The youkai-"

"Have departed." Sango interrupted. "As soon as you left the remaining insects all slithered off, so there's no more danger."

Not realizing how strange that happenstance actually was in his turmoil, Inuyasha merely sighed in mild relief to know that the rest of the village was safe, at least for the time being.

"Inuyasha…" Sango spoke up again in that moment. "What happened here?"

"Kagome…" he croaked out, his voice broken from the pain. "She…Kikyou…" Absently, he gestured to the pile of miko clothing, soiled by the charred remains of a broken doll.

Sango gasped at the sight and the implication.

"K-Kagome-chan did this…?"

Inuyasha said nothing, merely pinching his eyes shut and tilting his head down to the ground. The old him would have shrugged off Sango's touch long before now, told her and the bouzu to go to Hell and bound off into the forest, but he wasn't the same heartless loner bastard he used to be. He had learned it was okay to have friends.

_Kagome taught me that_.

That thought quickly had him clamming up a bit, finally shrugging off the slayer's hand. Anything that _bitch _had ever told him was probably a lie.

"I am afraid I do not understand." Miroku's voice broke in then, pulling Inuyasha from his spiraling thoughts, momentarily at least.

"What's not to fucking understand?" he snapped, turning to glare at the monk as his anger renewed. "The bitch fucking murdered her! Kagome killed Kikyou!"

Sango cringed at the hatred in Inuyasha's voice and eyes, unconsciously taking a few steps back to stand closer to Miroku. The monk, while secretly just as wary of their demonic companion in his current frame of mind, was able to show more composure on the outside. He could not believe Inuyasha's words were true, though he knew the hanyou obviously believed they were with every fiber of his being.

"That is simply not possible, not for one such as Kagome-sama." he defended in what he hoped was a soothing tone. "Perhaps, in self-defense…"

Inuyasha growled. A literal growl.

"I know what I fucking saw! First of all fuck you for implying that Kikyou would have tried to kill Kagome…"

Both Miroku and Sango thought it exceedingly unwise to point out in that moment how Kikyou had in fact attempted such a thing in the past.

"But I saw it with my own two eyes!" Inuyasha continued. "Kikyou was just standing there and then Kagome charged and stabbed her! That ain't no fucking self-defense!"

_And that was definitely the real Kagome-sama_… Miroku added in his thoughts, considering how the terrified young miko had just vanished down the well.

He had been quick to take note of the abandoned yellow backpack sitting near the time portal, making the mental note to collect it before leaving the clearing; it wouldn't do to just leave their jewel shards lying around, especially with Naraku's insects in the area. The fact that Kagome was trapped in her time without their shards was immediately put into the back of his mind, the holy man honestly thinking that that might be for the best while Inuyasha was like this, because she should definitely not return while he was still so hostile, and later should Inuyasha choose to bring Kagome back then he could very easily do so. In the meantime, though, thoughts of Naraku's insects immediately reminded the monk of something much more important in that moment than Kagome's momentary exile from their world.

"What of Naraku's presence in this area? Are these events truly unrelated?"

Inuyasha just shrugged, and moving over to where Kikyou's remains lied, he removed his suikan before gently crouching down before the fallen miko.

"Kikyou must've felt Naraku's approach here and had come here with news." he replied as he carefully started scooping up her remains and placed them on his laid out jacket, breathing through his mouth so as not to lose it again now that he'd stopped crying. The least he could do was take her back to Kaede for a proper burial, and that was _his _job, nobody else was allowed to touch her. He didn't mind that his friends were watching, though. Desperately, Inuyasha tried not to let Kagome's apparent betrayal turn him bitter against Sango and Miroku. He would never be quite so open and trusting again, not even with them, but he needed them to defeat Naraku. He couldn't go it alone and he _still _needed to kill Naraku to avenge Kikyou, even if the dark hanyou hadn't been the one to murder her the second time around.

Another growl slipped past his lips, loud enough for the humans to hear though they didn't comment on it as Miroku instead continued his gentle questioning with, "But if that is the case, then what could have possibly triggered the hostility Kagome-sama felt towards Kikyou-sama?"

He was not truly questioning, he was just trying to get Inuyasha to think about it. There was no way Miroku would ever believe that Kagome had just up and murdered Kikyou in cold blood. _Something _had to have happened. Naraku was notorious for illusions, but he could easily understand how the hanyou was too emotionally involved and so Miroku tried to take himself out of the picture in that moment, to observe the facts objectively. That had been the real Kagome, and presumably these were also the remains of the real Kikyou, though he imagined Inuyasha's nose would be the only way to determine that for certain. It was based upon the hanyou's reaction to the remains that he accepted their authenticity for the time being. Assuming both miko had been who they'd appeared to be, there still had to have been some sort of trick of Naraku's involved on some level. Kagome had either been possessed, or Kikyou had been possessed, or if mind control wasn't an option than perhaps an illusion concocted by some other incarnation of the dark hanyou's who had used a different form of trickery to get perhaps even both of the miko to believe that the other was somebody else, a projected glamour concealing their true identities to each other's eyes.

"Did Kagome-sama say anything as she attacked?" he asked then, hoping there might be some clue in her words. Even if she had merely been shouting out a battle cry like a warrior that would still be a clue, because that was something else that Kagome never did.

"Yeah." Inuyasha snorted darkly. "She said 'I won't let you hurt Inuyasha' right before she stabbed her." he told them bitterly, adding, "She was stopping Kikyou from dragging me into Hell."

_Well then it __was__ self-defense, in a way_… Miroku thought, though he immediately decided against voicing that particular point aloud. After all, with no immediate threat to Inuyasha's safety Kagome's actions were still unjustified, if that were truthfully all it had been.

If.

"But Kagome-chan has said in the past that while saddened, she would accept your need to keep that vow if in the end you felt you had to." Sango dared to point out in that moment, speaking up for the first time in the last few minutes.

Inuyasha merely snorted again, folding Kikyou's clothing to gently place on top of the clay and ash before folding up his suikan to secure the bundle.

"Well I guess she changed her mind." he answered sarcastically.

"But how could a dispute regarding Kikyou-sama's desire to bring you with her into the next life have escalated between the two to such an intense level so quickly?" Miroku asked then, pointing out, "Hadn't you taken off to arrive here immediately upon scenting Kagome-sama's arrival through the well?"

Inuyasha paused for a moment at that one, looking like he was actually thinking about the houshi's words, before finally shaking his head, getting back to what he was doing.

"The wind must've shifted and I didn't notice, so they'd been here longer than I knew of. I was a little _busy, _after all."

_Yes, you were being kept busy by Naraku's lowly servants until suddenly catching Kagome-sama's scent at just the right moment to witness her kill Kikyou-sama, the youkai you were fighting all taking off immediately afterwards as if their mission had been completed_… Miroku thought sarcastically, though he didn't dare voice that particular observation out loud just yet.

"Could there have been any other reason Kagome-sama had believed you were in more immediate peril?" Miroku asked instead.

"How the fuck should I know?" Inuyasha snapped, starting to get really sick of putting up with their twenty questions. "Look, I get it that you guys are tryin' to be all like you care and whatever, but you don't really know what I'm feeling right now and so I'd appreciate it if you both just backed the fuck off for a while."

"You're not the only one who's witnessed somebody you love take the life of somebody else you love." Sango bit back, her harsh words causing the hanyou's eyes to widen for a moment before softening ever so slightly. Under the circumstances, he would let her use of the 'L' word go without comment. There was really no denying that he _had _loved Kagome, but now…?

"That was different, though…" he spoke up then, commenting on her statement as a whole as he rose to his feet with his bundle held tenderly in a protective embrace. "Kohaku had been under Naraku's direct control, like a puppet; he can't be blamed for his actions."

Inuyasha's tone of voice sounded remorseful, though whether or not the hanyou merely felt sympathy towards Sango and her brother, or if he was secretly wishing that had also been Kagome's situation, Miroku couldn't be sure. Either way it was a valid consideration.

As if sensing where the monk was about to go with his statement, Inuyasha quickly shot his friend a look that had him stilling his tongue as he added, "Kagome wasn't under Naraku's control." Inuyasha's tone this time clearly left no room for argument, and since neither Miroku nor Sango had actually bore witness to Kagome's attack on Kikyou they knew they couldn't rightfully argue against what they had not seen for themselves.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha added with a sigh after a moment, elaborating on his previous statement. "She…she _couldn't _have been under Naraku's control. You guys have seen what happens whenever anybody tries to take over her mind. Their power over her is limited at best and she always breaks free." His tone of voice was almost defeated, as if he wished his own words weren't true. Honestly, Inuyasha would love nothing more than to be able to believe that Kagome had been bewitched somehow, but he just knew that it wasn't so.

Miroku and Sango followed silently behind Inuyasha as he headed towards Kaede's hut, Kagome's yellow backpack slung over Miroku's shoulder. Privately, they each knew that Inuyasha's words were true. Others _had _tried to take over Kagome's mind in the past, and they had never been successful, at least not for very long.

_Besides_… Miroku thought then, still trying to put the pieces together. _Had it been mind control, then Kagome-sama would probably not have shouted out that she would not let Kikyou-sama hurt Inuyasha_.

That thought had the monk leaning more towards the theory that it had actually been Kikyou who had either been possessed or controlled – or coerced – in some way, making her pose a genuine and immediate enough threat to Inuyasha that Kagome had felt there was no other option but to immediately deal with it herself, although he knew better than to state such a thing aloud in that moment. There was definitely something he wasn't seeing, a missing piece to the puzzle, and it truly frustrated the monk because he was certain it was right there, right under his nose.

_Or right under Inuyasha's_… he added in his mind, not yet ready to rule out the possibility that one of their two miko had been an imposter, and not the one who had jumped down the well afterwards.

Arriving at Kaede's hut, informing the elderly miko of what all had transpired did not go how any one of the three could have predicted.

"What has happened here?" Kaede asked with worry in her voice immediately upon spotting the sight of Inuyasha carrying his suikan wrapped up in a bundle, Kagome's bag slung over Miroku's shoulder with no sign of the girl herself.

Blunt and to the point as always, Inuyasha answered before either the monk or slayer could open their mouths.

"Kagome murdered Kikyou."

Kaede's good eye widened to maximum capacity as she tentatively gazed once more to the bundle Inuyasha held, while the second person that had already been in the hut upon their arrival completely lost it at the hanyou's words.

"Where's Kagome?" Shippou demanded, the kit angrily charging at Inuyasha before Sango managed to swoop in and catch the boy midair before he could possibly cause Inuyasha to drop what he held, which _really _would not have been a good thing. "What did you do to her?" he cried as he frantically struggled to free himself from Sango's grasp, until the slayer was forced to threaten him that she would subdue him with one of her stink pellets if he could not calm down, assuring the boy that Kagome was fine and in her own time. He finally ceased his struggles at that news, but his hardened glare never wavered as he stared Inuyasha down.

The hanyou merely snorted.

"I didn't do nothin' to that bitch, all right? She's gone from our lives and that's all that matters to me. I didn't _hurt _her for what she did, so you can stop looking at me like that. It was more lenience than I woulda shown anyone else."

"I believe I need to be updated on the details of this situation." Kaede stated then, and her tone, while seemingly calm, held an air of authority that nobody dared to question.

Quickly, the story was retold, Sango and Miroku learning no new information the second time around as Inuyasha kept his retelling short and to the point. Kaede was just as quick to pick up on the few subtleties that Miroku had noticed, though, plus some other points the monk had not yet thought of.

"Tell me again, Inuyasha…" Kaede questioned quietly while carefully taking the bundle from his arms, Kaede being the only other person Inuyasha would let handle Kikyou's remains, "…how was it, precisely, that Kagome struck my sister down?"

"I _told _you." he grumbled, trying hard to bite his tongue because this _was _Kikyou's sister, after all, and she, unlike the others, at least had a right to her questions. "She stabbed her in the chest with her tiny dagger, the blade charged up with her miko powers."

Nodding thoughtfully, Kaede carefully laid out the parcel made from Inuyasha's outer robe, unfolding it to examine Kikyou's remains as she sat on the floor beside the bundle.

"And tell me, why is it you believe that Kagome's miko powers would have done this to Kikyou-onee-sama's body, considering she contained miko powers of her own?"

Taken aback for a moment, Inuyasha answered questioningly and with a slight stutter while the others stared at Kaede with wide eyes, "B-because her body was constructed from youkai magic?"

Kaede nodded thoughtfully, moving the red and white clothing aside to finger some of the ash and chips of clay that lied underneath.

"This is true in part. Her body, while molded from clay that was created by mixing her ground up bones and graveyard soil, was given shape and life via youkai magic. I suppose it is possible then that foreign reiki could have destroyed the magic enabling her body to function, if the very nature of the body being made from her remains allowed it to withstand my sister's powers and her powers alone. But…" she added, taking a moment to glance up into everyone's eyes, seeing four sets of unblinking eyes gazing back down at her waiting for her to continue. "Kagome, being Kikyou-onee-sama's reincarnation, would then share the same powers as her, in that sense. I do believe that while perhaps even myself, or you Houshi, could have struck Kikyou-onee-sama down in such a way, Kagome most likely would not have been able to do so."

"Most likely…" Inuyasha repeated with what almost sounded like an air of optimism, of hope, before shaking it off with a bitter snort. "Good theory, babaa, except I saw it with my own eyes." he stated then, sounding more defeated than argumentative. Grumbling, he plopped down on the floor, allowing Kaede to continue holding possession of Kikyou's remains.

"Kagome wasn't possessed, neither." he added freely, figuring Kaede's next plan was going to be bringing up how Kagome could have possibly been under somebody else's control, and therefore her powers could have been altered as well. "She knew what she'd done, spooked to see me standing behind her as she immediately tried to apologize and spout off some nonsense or another about Naraku."

Both Miroku and Sango's eyes widened at that rather important bit of information, gazing at Inuyasha in horror from their place on the other side of the room, the duo having taken a seat across from him on the other side of the cold fire pit.

"And just why did you not mention this before?" Miroku questioned, more than a little bit of irritation in his voice, which he figured was acceptable under the circumstances.

"'Cause you didn't ask." Inuyasha answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"I do believe I pointed out how Naraku's presence in the area could have been related." Miroku argued, reminding, "You merely consented that you believed it was Naraku's presence that had lured Kikyou-sama here, saying nothing of Kagome-sama's words after the fact that gave mention of the dark hanyou by name. And while I did specifically ask you only if Kagome-sama had said anything to Kikyou-sama as she attacked, I would think that her saying something to you about Naraku _after _the attack should have been deemed equally important."

Inuyasha merely shrugged, a sheepish look flashing across his face for the briefest of moments before he brushed it off, a new wave of anger taking back over as he gazed forlornly at Kikyou's remains, at what Kagome had done. He still stood by the words he had spoken to the future-born miko; he didn't _care _if Naraku had tricked her into killing Kikyou, she had still done it, she had still killed her. Maybe he could learn not to hate her for it, if Naraku truly had been involved in some way, but he still doubted he could ever actually forgive her.

"Well then wasn't Naraku clearly involved in some way?" Shippou chimed in then from his place in Sango's lap, as if reading the hanyou's thoughts. "Some kind of a trick, if Kagome was trying to say so?" The kitsune would never in a million years be willing to accept that Kagome had just up and killed Kikyou for no reason.

"So what?" Inuyasha mumbled dejectedly. "So he'd tricked her into killing Kikyou, like he had tricked Kikyou into attacking me?" He shrugged. "She still did it, she still killed her. It ain't the same 'cause Kikyou'd had grounds for thinkin' what she had. Remember, Naraku had cut _her _down wearing _my_ face, so what the hell else was she supposed to think? But no illusion of Kikyou had attacked Kagome first. Even if I didn't notice it that Kagome had arrived earlier, there wasn't enough time to swap out a fake Kikyou for the real one, to attack Kagome but then have her think the Kikyou before her had been the one who'd done it. There wasn't any kind of hint of Naraku's scent anywhere near the well, as if he'd been there disguised as Kikyou, and Kagome hadn't been attacked anyways because there'd been no hint of her blood, either; she'd clearly been unharmed. Plus her words…she was tryin' to protect _me_, not fight back against an attack against herself. Trick or no, Kagome had made the decision to cut Kikyou down in cold blood. Whatever she thought her reasons were, she had decided to murder Kikyou. I…I can't forgive that, even if she thought she was doing it for my sake."

The room was quiet for a few minutes after that as everyone processed his words, while Kaede continued to study Kikyou's remains, trying to sense from them whether or not there was any trace of magic that felt foreign to what she'd come to associate with her resurrected sister's artificial body. Unfortunately, she had never taken the time to truly study Urasue's work. She imagined that Inuyasha would be able to tell beyond a shadow of a doubt if these remains truly belonged to her sister, but what she was gathering from everything she'd heard so far was also that Inuyasha had not yet taken the time necessary to determine that fact once and for all. He was merely going by what he had seen in that instant, allowing his emotions to rule his judgment, and he had also refused to allow Kagome to speak her explanation before banishing her to her time, an explanation that had apparently involved Naraku's involvement in some way.

While Kaede would be willing to hear Kagome's side of the story even if it were true that she had actually killed her sister, Kaede wasn't so quick to label the young girl a murderer. Ignoring the fact for the time being that the elderly miko honestly believed within her heart that the doll that walks, or walked, their world today was not really her sister to begin with, and that her piece of 'borrowed' soul rightfully belonged to Kagome, Kaede was also still not 100% convinced that the remains she held were those of Kikyou to begin with. She truly found it hard to believe that Kagome could _ever _be tricked into attacking anyone in cold blood, but much more importantly than that she also still doubted that Kagome's powers could have destroyed Kikyou's body like this, even if the future-born miko honestly had tried to attack Kikyou in such a way. Urasue had designed Kikyou's body specifically to aid her in her search for the Shikon shards, so it had obviously been known by the youkai witch from the very start that Kikyou's miko powers would be needed, and therefore she would've had to have cast her spell accordingly. Since Kikyou's soul had come out of Kagome, Kikyou's powers were Kagome's powers; there had been no difference in the feel of their auras except for the way Kikyou had later altered hers by adding the souls of others into her body to make up for what she had otherwise lacked. Other than that, she and Kagome's spirits were identical, at least when it boiled down to the way their energies vibrated on the spiritual plane. Kagome and Kikyou were definitely two _very _different people, but, scientifically speaking at least, they _did _share the same soul. Kagome could no more destroy Kikyou with her powers than Kikyou could have destroyed herself.

Finally, it was out of the mouth of babes that Shippou was the first one to voice the possibility directly in that moment, Kaede and Miroku's obvious suspicions having also found root in Sango and Shippou's minds by that point.

The silence was broken by the question, "What if that wasn't really the real Kikyou at all? What if she _was_ a fake, and she was going to do something bad and Kagome knew it?"

Inuyasha didn't get overly agitated at the kit's words, but he did vehemently deny the possibility, shaking his head before taping his nose.

"Besides the fact that she _smelled _like how Kikyou smelled after being resurrected, several souls were also released from her body when she died, floating away."

"Hmm…" Kaede hummed thoughtfully. That second point did complicate matters, although she supposed it would be possible that a replica of her sister made using similar methods as Urasue, instead of the normal way in which Naraku usually forged his puppets, would then be able to house lost souls stolen by Kanna's mirror. If there was one thing they knew about Naraku beyond anything else, it was that he possessed powers and abilities they did not fully understand, and also that he was a master of puppets and illusion. Considering all the dark hanyou had created thus far, she would not dismiss the possibility so easily.

"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." she stated softly, recollecting a quote Kagome had recited once from a book from her time that she had been reading for school.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha asked, his voice quiet but agitated.

"I believe it means," Sango spoke up, "that before we pass judgment on Kagome-chan indefinitely, we must first eliminate _all _other possibilities."

"Why do you want to believe Kagome did this, Inuyasha?" Shippou asked, heartbroken and totally confused. "Wouldn't it be better to think at first that it must have been a trick? Especially after Naraku tricked you and Kikyou before. Don't you trust Kagome after everything we've been through?"

"I…" With a lump developing in his throat, Inuyasha started to lose it at the kit's innocent, heartfelt words. He didn't _want _to believe that Kagome had betrayed him in such a way; he just knew what he knew! But did he really?

Gulping, he relayed the events he had not yet shared with the others, at least not in such detail.

"After I caught her, after I shouted out 'how could you', she said 'Inuyasha it was a trick' and 'Naraku' before I interrupted her. I was too pissed and hurt to see straight, and I'd figured she was just going to say that she had been tricked into killing Kikyou in some way."

Pausing, he chuckled darkly, shaking his head with a forlorn expression as something he himself hadn't personally considered until that moment suddenly came to him, echoing one of Miroku's many theories as he stated, "Hell, maybe it's true. Maybe Naraku really _had_ done something, managing to control Kagome in some way after all. Maybe Kagome didn't know who she was attacking, if Kikyou had had an illusionary image over herself that only Kagome could see, making her think she was someone else until she stabbed her, thinking her a true enemy until the spell was broken. Maybe Kagome didn't mean to kill Kikyou, then, if she had thought that Kikyou was somebody else, and if so then she really is a victim, too."

Sighing, Inuyasha raised a hand to rub at the back of his head, his exhaustion brought on by emotional drain clear to all those present. "All I know is that wasn't Naraku disguised as Kagome, and that wasn't Naraku disguised as Kikyou, either. Whatever the reason, trick or no, Kagome really _did_ kill her. She might not have realized it was Kikyou, and therefore she didn't know what she was doing, but she still did it, and I…I can't just let that go so easily. It's going to take…time."

Sango nodded at that, sympathizing with what their friend had to be feeling.

Miroku chose that moment to voice an observation he'd previously kept to himself, knowing that Inuyasha was calm enough now to listen to reason as he pointed out, "Let us not forget that Naraku's insect-youkai immediately departed as soon as you left, Inuyasha." Continuing to address the hanyou directly, he added, "That simply cannot mean anything other than their mission having been completed, as we were apparently all being kept busy until Kagome-sama's return through the well. There is simply no other explanation for why they would leave as soon as you did, nor is there a viable explanation other than conscious design for why you would not have noticed Kagome-sama or Kikyou-sama's scents at the well until _just _at the right time so that you would arrive in the clearing in time to witness, but not prevent, the scene that played out before you. Manipulating the wind currents in such a way would be an easy accomplishment for Kagura, and if she were far enough away, staying only close enough to affect the wind, that would explain why none of us felt her presence, distracted as we were by the youkai we were fighting."

"So the whole fucking thing was a setup." Inuyasha muttered to himself, accepting Miroku's words. "Kikyou must have been given false information somehow, approached by some creation of Naraku's or another that confronted her in some way so that she then thought she had to come here immediately, unaware of the glamour that had been cast on her, unaware she was walking into a trap."

"Perhaps…" Kaede answered, unwilling to eliminate any possibility just yet. "But little Shippou also raises a good point. It may not have been an illusion as you suggest, masking my sister's form from Kagome's eyes. It may in fact have not been Kikyou-onee-sama who was slain at all."

Narrowing his eyes at the old lady, he replied with a bit more bite than before, "I know what I smell, _babaa_."

"So you have thoroughly examined my sister's remains, then?" Kaede countered, her good eye piercing him knowingly, and Inuyasha paused again.

"Well, not _thoroughly_…" he confessed quietly, quick to defend with, "But even now that still smells like graveyard soil, bones and Kikyou!" as he pointing to the remains. "There ain't no trace of Naraku's scent, or anybody else's-"

His eyes opened wide as that last word left his lips, interrupting himself mid-sentence because Kaede had chosen that moment to pick up a handful of Kikyou's ashes while he'd been talking, and carefully, so as not to spill any onto the wooden floor, she'd dropped them from one hand to the other, like sand in an hourglass. The faintest whiff of something foreign _had _reached his nose as she'd done so. Something…not Kikyou, though not Naraku either. There was no trace of _anything _demonic from the miko's remains, aside from the lingering jyaki that had been used in the spell to forge her body, of course. But that 'something' that he _had _smelled…

"Fuck…" he cursed quietly, and all eyes were immediately on him.

"Inuyasha?" Sango braved after a moment.

"I…I breathed through my mouth while scooping her up, I just couldn't stomach the thought of smelling her one moment longer while seeing what had happened. But…"

Shakily taking a handful of Kikyou's broken clay and ash, using noticeably less care than how Kaede had been handling the remains, the elderly miko acting appropriately 'just in case', Inuyasha practically shoved the brown and dark gray substance up his nose, inhaling deeply while remaining only cautious enough to not _actually _inhale any of it.

"Fuck!" he cursed then, angrily throwing the handful of clay and ash into the presently unused fire pit.

"Inuyasha?" Miroku questioned, startled by the hanyou's actions.

"I smell a human in there that ain't Kikyou. It _does _smell like Kikyou, but there's also some other woman in the mix, and there's more of her than there is of Kikyou. It's like…it's like Kikyou's scent was added on top of somebody else's, like a perfume. Somehow her scent was made stronger, so I didn't notice the other one at first, but it's definitely there, hidden underneath."

"So Kagome-chan's words that it had been a trick, she wasn't trying to explain that she'd just realized in that moment that Naraku had tricked her into killing Kikyou with a false glamour, she was trying to express that Kikyou herself had been a trick, a duplicate of Naraku's design." Sango murmured more to herself though plenty loud enough for the others to hear, especially the man whose canine ears lowered to his head at the statement.

"And whatever she had been created for, she was going to hurt Inuyasha and Kagome knew it, which was why she'd shouted what she'd shouted as she killed her." Shippou chimed in next with pride in his voice, pleased to realize that he'd been right; Kagome was innocent.

Cringing as Shippou's words only drove the proverbial knife in even deeper, Inuyasha reached for the pile of clay and ash once more in that moment, a horrible realization coming over him as he began fingering through the burnt remains, searching for something he'd seen before when collecting her fallen body at the well, though at that time he hadn't thought anything of it. Finding what he was looking for after a moment, Inuyasha's eyes watered as he held up a single, unblemished piece of clay, as if this one flake, around the size of a large coin, had somehow avoided getting burned by Kagome's magic. Several chips of clay around this same size or smaller were among the remains, but this was the only one with no charring, and as he studied it even closer he quickly noticed the single strand of black hair that was tied around the chip of clay. There was no doubt about it now; Kaede had been right all along that Kagome's reiki couldn't harm the _real _Kikyou's body, _this _Kikyou had merely been a puppet of some sort, a single chip from the real Kikyou's body needed to complete the spell. What that meant for the real Kikyou, he didn't want to think about, gently setting down the single chip of clay he was certain had come from the undead miko. Whatever had happened to Kikyou, it was done, there was nothing he could do to prevent it, and therefore there were more important things to worry about in that moment, like whether or not Kagome would ever find it in her heart to forgive him.

"I wonder what the false Kikyou had been constructed to do." Sango murmured questioningly after a moment of silence had passed, the slayer taken aback almost as much as Inuyasha by Miroku's next words.

"I believe…" the monk began hesitantly. "…that this _is _what she had been constructed to do."

Inuyasha gasped at Miroku's words, everything suddenly taking on a whole new meaning yet again. As everything clicked into place, suddenly, Inuyasha knew that Miroku was right. They all were. Kagome hadn't been tricked by Naraku into killing the real Kikyou, but neither had she merely been trying to explain to him how she had taken out a puppet of Naraku's that had been meant as a trick against him which she had foiled. Witnessing Kagome kill Kikyou, that _was _the trick against him, which Kagome must have only just then realized in that same instant as he'd shown up to witness the act.

_No wonder she'd had such a panicked look in her eyes, realizing too late that she actually __had__ been tricked by Naraku, after all_.

The only difference was that she had been tricked into killing what she knew to be a fake Kikyou, solely so that he could bear witness, and how that happenstance had come about was probably not too hard to guess at, either.

_The puppet must have openly threatened me,_ Inuyasha immediately realized. _Kagome, she…she knew that that was a fake Kikyou, who was going to hurt me, so not realizing Naraku's true plan she'd thought to protect me, charging and killing the puppet_.

Yes, ultimately Kagome had still fallen for Naraku's ploy, she had still been his pawn, dancing the dance he had choreographed for her, but on the surface she had also still bravely rushed a creation of Naraku's, undoubtedly believing herself risking her own life in the process, all for Inuyasha's sake, to protect him. And how did he repay her?

_Oh gods…Kagome…_

"I…I really fucked up…" he whispered more to himself, as if going into shock. "Damn it!" he shouted, punching and cracking the floor. "I can't believe I turned against her so fucking easily…" His eyes were watery once more, though he refused to let his tears fall. Crying like a baby wouldn't solve anything.

Shippou flinched as Inuyasha lashed out, seeking comfort in Sango's embrace, while Miroku shook his head in sympathy at the display, knowing how much it had to hurt their hanyou companion to realize he had been fooled by Naraku yet again, once more tricked into turning against his beloved. How Inuyasha truly felt about Kagome was fairly obvious, as far as Miroku was concerned, although he wisely knew to keep his lips sealed on that subject for the time being. However, there was a positive side to everything this time around that the monk felt he _had_ to bring up in that moment.

"I think that, under the circumstances, Kagome-sama will easily forgive you, Inuyasha." he wished to state first and foremost, earning a hesitantly hopeful glance from the hanyou, his golden eyes glistening with the evidence of his pain. "Plus, I would also like you to think on something for a moment." the holy man continued once he knew he had Inuyasha's complete attention.

"While it is true that you fell victim to Naraku's trickery, none of us in this room can rightfully cast blame when we all know from firsthand experience just how convincing the dark hanyou's illusions and manipulations can be."

Sango silently nodded her agreement at that, tightening her arms around the boy in her lap as a few dark memories of her own plagued her briefly.

"But fifty years ago…" Miroku continued, "…believing that Kikyou-sama had turned against you, you did not attack her, you merely sought to steal the jewel. And now, even now, believing that Kagome-sama had _murdered _Kikyou-sama, you did not strike her down in turn for the injustice, instead excluding her from your previously unwavering _drive _to protect and avenge Kikyou-sama against all the wrongdoings that had befallen her, merely banishing Kagome to her world to live out the rest of her life safe and healthfully. This says to me that you have more honor, more compassion, understanding and forgiveness, than anyone I have ever met. I never in a thousand lifetimes would have believed that you could find it within yourself to spare the life of _anyone _who would cut Kikyou-sama down so ruthlessly, but yet even when you had believed with all your heart that that's what Kagome-sama had done, you merely chased her off unharmed. Knowing how important Kikyou-sama is to you, you still could not strike Kagome-sama down for her murder, because of how important _she _is to you, and Kagome-sama will surely have realized this. I have full confidence that she knows she is the only one you ever would have spared in such a situation, because _nothing_, not even Naraku, can make you harm Kagome-sama."

"I raised my claws to her…" Inuyasha argued quietly, his ears drooping lifelessly.

"But I sensed no rise in youki from within you, you had not been charging your demonic aura for an attack."

"Th-that's true." he answered, raising hesitant eyes to his friends across the room from him. "I never could have actually struck her, I _wouldn't _have, I was just tryin' to make her believe it so she'd run away."

He lowered his eyes again.

"And I did that. I…I made Kagome believe I _would _attack her. She screamed, afraid of _me_. I can't undo that."

"There's only one way to find out." Sango spoke up then, her voice soft and forgiving, knowing how strongly the future-born miko actually loved this man from their many nights of shared 'girl talk' while soaking in a hot spring.

Inuyasha looked optimistic for a moment, but then slumped his shoulders again.

"Kagome'll never come back, I made sure of it. I told her specifically to never come back, and she knows what I thought, that she'd killed Kikyou. There ain't no way she'd return after that."

"Kagome-sama will never return to us on her own," Miroku agreed, "But not from any lingering trepidation."

Gesturing to where he had sat down Kagome's yellow backpack, Inuyasha's eyes widened in horror yet again, this time from finally realizing that he could smell their jewel shards. She hadn't had them on her person.

_Fucking hells_…

He had already figured that he would have to be the one to first approach Kagome in her time, because he had honestly believed what he'd just said, that she would never return on her own after the way he had chased her off, but now he _definitely _hadto be the one to retrieve Kagome, no ands, ifs or buts. Without their jewel shards, she couldn't even return to him if she _wanted _to.

Part of him wanted to immediately run out of the hut in that moment, launching himself down the well without further delay to beg Kagome to forgive him for not having had more faith in her, but…

"What if she's still afraid of me? What if she doesn't trust me when I show up to talk to her? I don't think I could bear it to see her eyes look at me with fear, to smell it in her scent like I did at the well. What if she thinks I decided I want revenge, after all? That I'm there to kill her?"

"As soon as Kagome sees you're not being all crazy and angry she'll know you realized the truth." Shippou spoke up.

"Indeed, Kagome is probably under the assumption that you would never under normal circumstances go to her, with what she knows of your misinformed knowledge regarding this incident, believing that you would only ever return to fetch her _after_ you had learned the truth of Naraku's deception." Kaede added, the elderly miko choosing that moment to speak back up. "She is probably hoping, praying, that you may in fact one day return for her, knowing that your arrival in her world would surely mean that you had realized the truth."

"Guess I was bound to realize it sooner or later, even if it wasn't until the real Kikyou showed up again, provided she's still alive." That thought had Inuyasha cringing again, as he met Kaede's eyes and murmured worriedly, "What if Naraku killed Kikyou in order to make his replica?"

"Worry not, Inuyasha. Though I am in truth not alive, I am relatively unscathed." a new voice said in that moment, the reed mat over the doorway being pushed aside to reveal a young woman dressed in miko garb, a kitten-sized Kirara following after her.

"K-Kikyou…" Inuyasha murmured in shock and relief, not having noticed her scent approaching from outside because of her stolen scent that still continued to cling to the stranger's remains on the floor. It wasn't hard to notice the gash in her cheek, or the way some of her hair was lopped off, and Inuyasha felt his insides churning at the sight, both distraught to know what Kikyou had to have gone through without him there to protect her as well as from having this final, ultimate proof that Kagome had been innocent all along.

"I would have arrived sooner," the undead miko began apologetically, "But minions of Naraku had spotted me on their way back to their master, and I could not afford to risk any of them informing Naraku of my arrival here as my presence would surely foil his latest plan, thus causing him to retaliate with even more hostility, and so therefore I had to eliminate them." Turning to Sango, she added, "It would have been an even more time consuming task, but your feline arrived and offered her assistance. She is a competent warrior."

Kirara meowed in the affirmative, articulating that she had sensed Kikyou's approach through the woods. Because the nekomata had also picked up Kikyou's scent from the direction of the well the same time Inuyasha had, and the undead miko could clearly not be in two different locations at the same time, she had quickly decided that in some way or another Naraku had to have been involved with a trick involving an illusion of Kikyou. Knowing that the others had all taken off towards the well, Kagome and the one Kikyou, she had taken it upon herself to travel into the woods, in the direction the insect-youkai had gone, to investigate the second Kikyou. Upon spotting the undead miko battling against Naraku's insects, her shinidamachuu doing their best to avoid the youkai's many attacks, Kirara had quickly deduced that she had to be the real Kikyou and had therefore decided to assist her with fighting off the last of Naraku's monsters before bringing her back to the village.

Shippou, able to understand Kirara because of the similarities between foxes and cats, immediately translated all the nekomata had to say, and Inuyasha patted the two-tail's head as she brushed up against him, mewing softly her own words of encouragement.

Standing up then, Inuyasha took one last look at Kikyou, his heart panging again at the sight of her injuries though the undead miko was quick to read his expression and assured him, "I am fine. Go."

Seeing the ground up human remains and soil that lied in a pile beside miko clothing, and noting the absence of her reincarnation, it was only all too easy for Kikyou to guess as to what had been Naraku's plan.

Nodding curtly, Inuyasha spared one moment longer to say, "I'm glad you're okay." before rushing past her and out of the hut.

He had to set things right with Kagome, now. The longer he waited, the harder he knew it would be in the long run, and he refused to put Kagome through even one more second of pain after what he'd done, knowing Kaede was right. Kagome probably did still hold out hope that he would eventually return for her, upon learning of the deception, and so the longer he stayed away, it would translate in her mind as more time in which he still maintained his original beliefs. He knew it would kill _him _inside if she were the one who hated him, honestly believing he had murdered someone close to her, so he couldn't let her go on believing that he believed that, now that he knew the truth. He could only hope that in the end, Kagome really would forgive him for not trusting her even enough to let her explain herself, though he wouldn't blame her if she was the one who hated him after this was over. He hated himself.

oooOOOoooOOOooo

Arriving on her side of time, Kagome immediately broke down into hysterical tears at the bottom of the well. How had everything gone so wrong, so quickly? Now she would never see Inuyasha again, and her last memories of him would forever be the way he had glared at her in utter hatred, his claws raised though there had been no spark of youki in his aura, as if he'd been battling within himself as to whether or not he could truly strike her down.

She clung onto the hope that he would never have actually harmed her.

Had she hesitated even longer, he probably would have merely rushed her, picked her up and thrown her down the well himself. Ruefully, she thought that it wouldn't have been the first time he'd tossed her down the well, if he would have done so, although there was definitely a _big _difference between then and now because the last time he'd actually sent her through the time portal supposedly never to return, it had been to spare her from the hardships and dangers of his world. It had been from a place of caring and consideration, not because he couldn't bear to be near her and he wanted her forever out of his sight before he just might snap and actually do something he'd regret.

Kagome did believe that he would have regretted it if he had actually struck her, though she also knew that he wouldn't have been the first person to have ever attacked a loved one in the heat of the moment; she was very grateful that he had managed to maintain control. Considering the fact that he believed with all his heart that she had just ruthlessly cut Kikyou down in cold blood, Kagome was grateful to know that he apparently still cared enough about _her_ to not immediately take his revenge. If some random person, anyone else, had taken Kikyou's life, Kagome was positive that Inuyasha would have taken that person's life in return. Of course, she was also equally positive that the same could have been said had he witnessed anybody taking _her _life; with the exception of Kikyou, Inuyasha wouldn't hesitate to strike down anyone who had killed Kagome.

Why the dark hanyou hadn't played it that way, instead, was easy enough to figure out, though. Firstly if Inuyasha had witnessed a false Kagome getting killed then there would have been a much different type of 'body' left behind; constructing a clay doll to fake the death of someone who was in reality a clay doll was _much _easier. Not to mention, how to get rid of the _real _Kagome if her death had been faked? She supposed it would've been possible to still banish her down the well, just as Inuyasha had done, but ignoring the fact that her scent would have led up to the portal or that it would've been highly unlikely that Naraku could have gotten that close to her for a long enough period of time to accomplish such a feat without _somebody _else sensing his presence and rushing onto the scene, there was still the matter of how to get Kikyou to go along with the ruse and kill her 'copy's' copy. Shaking her head, Kagome thought sadly that Kikyou would definitely have been much too smart to fall for such an obvious deception, conveniently overlooking the reason why the undead miko was undead to begin with.

She only hoped that Naraku hadn't actually done something to the real Kikyou when making his duplicate; if she really was dead and gone then Kagome knew she would most likely hold the title of her murderer forever, though of course that wasn't the _only_ reason she hoped Kikyou was unharmed. Honestly, for Inuyasha's sake, and for Kikyou's own sake as well, Kagome hoped that her preincarnation was still alive, not only because her survival would ultimately clear her name but also because she didn't want Kikyou to die. Yes of course one day the undead miko needed to return to the land of the dead, but Kagome knew that Kikyou had that ability herself, to choose to descend into the afterlife, and the miko had already stated that she would rest once her death had been avenged. If Naraku had murdered her _again_, then Kagome feared that her soul would never find peace. She conveniently overlooked the fact that, as Kikyou's reincarnation, her soul would ultimately find peace within herself. There was no reason why Kikyou herself should be made to suffer in the meantime.

But surely such a ploy couldn't have been designed to last forever if the real Kikyou was still out there, right? Otherwise Inuyasha was bound to find out that she was still alive, at least eventually, and then he would know that Kagome had not murdered Kikyou and would then come back for her. All signs tended to point towards Kikyou's unfortunate demise, then, Kagome realized with a sense of foreboding. Except…dare she be optimistic? Because as far as Kagome knew, Naraku still lacked the ability to kill Kikyou because of his lingering human heart. Otherwise why not simply create a fake Kagome to kill the real Kikyou, then pull the ol' switch-a-roo so that Inuyasha tore into the real Kagome instead of the fake for her crime? For that matter, why not just have the fake Kikyou kill the real _Kagome_ and tear Inuyasha up emotionally the other way around? That would make more sense in one way because then even if he eventually found out it had been a trick and that once again it had not been the real Kikyou who'd betrayed him, Kagome would still be dead in the end, which would surely aid Naraku in his game plan, wouldn't it? So could it really be possible, then, that Naraku had spared her life as well for the same reason why he might have spared the real Kikyou during his construction of her puppet? Could he simply not be able to kill them? Maybe…

_Maybe he __knows__ the trick won't last forever, that either the real Kikyou will turn up or the others will somehow discover the trick in some other way, but he doesn't __need__ it to last forever because all he'd wanted to do was plant that seed of doubt and mistrust…_ Kagome thought after a moment, shivering in dread.

Shaking that rather unsettling thought free, Kagome concentrated on the only even remotely positive thing she could think of in this entire mess, the one piece of evidence that was on her side, and that was that she didn't believe her miko powers would actually destroy the real Kikyou in the way that they had Naraku's puppet. Despite Kikyou's body having also been created with youkai magic, it was specifically designed to safely house Kikyou's miko energy, using her own powers to maintain her body's structural integrity and only needing Urasue's youkai magic to forge the initial construction. Kagome had known, she'd felt it deep down inside, that her powers would destroy Naraku's puppet, because with no spiritual powers within herself whatsoever the Kikyou puppet had to have been sustained fully off of youki just like Naraku's other puppets, even though it'd been too subtle for her to feel with her untrained miko senses. But the real Kikyou…her body was held together with her own reiki, Urasue had designed her that way on purpose, and Kagome just knew that there was no way her miko powers would have destroyed the real Kikyou in such a way. This was her proof, the evidence that cleared her of the crime; too bad she couldn't tell anybody.

Inuyasha had clearly not known this detail about Kikyou's body, but what _Kagome_ didn't know was whether or not Kaede would realize this and use it in her defense or if the elderly miko herself was also unaware of how Kikyou's body worked…or if Inuyasha would even listen to reason if Kaede _did _know. She prayed that Kaede would act as defense attorney on her behalf, but there were a _lot _of variables that Kagome unfortunately had no way of knowing about, like what Miroku and Sango's reactions were going to be when _they _found out. Would they immediately believe as Inuyasha did, that she had so ruthlessly cut Kikyou down? Together, would they perhaps all come to the realization that it had been a trick of Naraku's? And what of the dark hanyou's possible agenda of not truly thinking this would banish her from their world for all time, but more so that it would merely destroy the trust that she and Inuyasha had in each other? Perhaps Naraku believed that she would simply wash her hands of their time, choosing never to return after Inuyasha's display of so little faith. Maybe she was supposed to 'wake up' now and realize what a monster Inuyasha could be, realizing that he himself wasn't to be trusted for how easily he had turned against her with claws raised. On the other hand, feeling so ultimately betrayed, even if he later learned it to be a trick, had to have at least some kind of lasting effect on Inuyasha, himself. Perhaps his faith in her really would been shattered, perhaps this moment would remind him that he could never _really _trust _anyone_, not even Kagome. On the other hand, it was also possible that it was the guilt that would eat him alive, after he realized he'd been tricked into turning against Kagome. At the very least he would probably never forgive himself for having fallen for Naraku's trickery, convincing _himself _that he was the one who couldn't be trusted, because of his inability to fully trust in others.

It _was _rather unsettling, Kagome had to admit, to know that he had immediately believed that she could have _possibly_ been capable of doing such a thing, not even stopping to think for just _one second_ that something didn't feel right, or even simply _demanding _to know _why _she had done such a thing. Even after saying Naraku's name Inuyasha still hadn't been willing to listen… But, on the other hand, Kagome also knew that Inuyasha had a bit of a temper on him, and so maybe he had just _really _needed her out of his sight for that moment only so that he could calm down. Maybe he would come to her later, then, to hear her side of the story, even if he didn't yet know the truth of the matter. Maybe Miroku and Sango and Kaede could get him to bend at least that much, since she could not return without him and none of the others could go to her. Regretfully, Kagome knew that she would only ever find that out if and when he ever actually did show up in her time, which could theoretically happen any time at all between that very moment…and never. Why the hell had she left the jewel shards behind? Taking a few calming breaths, Kagome knew that getting angry with herself wouldn't solve anything, even though she refused to get angry with Inuyasha.

_Now what do I do? _she thought in despair, realizing with a growing feeling of pain in her chest that there really wasn't all that much that she _could _do.

She'd realized right away upon jumping into the well that she'd forgotten the jewel shards, though it had already been too late. Once upon a time Souta had suggested keeping one single 'emergency' jewel shard at home, which would have had a two-fold benefit in that under such a circumstance, if she were to have fallen down the well without her shards for _whatever_ reason, she would then be able to return, and also, if ever anyone managed to steal her jewel shards back in the past, they could _never _complete the jewel in its entirety with one of the shards remaining forever protected in the future. But therein lied the problem, because she could hardly guarantee that the jewel shard left unguarded in the future while she was away was in any sense of the term 'protected'. What if something, anything, had shown up at the shrine looking for it while she'd been away? Leaving a shard at the shrine…that could have theoretically put her whole family in mortal danger, and that was why she'd ultimately decided against it. Of course, she _could _have tried harder to always keep her jewel shards on her person, always wearing them around her neck instead of sometimes tucking the small bottle into her backpack, but staying in the habit of always keeping the shards under her protection and being unable to wear them on her person at school for risk of them being spotted and recognized when she changed in gym class – as unlikely as that had seemed she just hadn't wanted to take any chances – Kagome had had the shards in her bag the day before at school and simply put she hadn't 'bothered' putting the necklace back on yet that morning. Although she knew that getting angry with herself wouldn't solve anything, she was awfully tempted to do it anyway.

She stood by her conviction, though, that no matter what she would _not _be angry with Inuyasha. Yes, it hurt, to know that he could believe such a thing about her, but on the other hand she knew what he had witnessed with his own two eyes and the evidence was _very _compelling. It wasn't as if someone had merely told a rumor about her that there had been no proof of and he had decided to believe it. He had _witnessed _her cutting Kikyou down, a clay doll that she imagined must have been designed to smell like the real Kikyou, if it had been designed to fool Inuyasha. And those souls? Sardonically, Kagome knew that she really had to hand it to Naraku for that one. Nice touch.

Trying to put herself in Inuyasha's shoes…figuratively speaking, at least…Kagome tried to think with full honesty how she would have reacted had she witnessed Inuyasha brutally murder somebody she cared very deeply about. Of course, that scenario didn't really work when there was nobody that she could immediately think of that she loved as strongly as she loved Inuyasha. How would she feel, then, if she had witnessed say…either Sango or Miroku murdering _Inuyasha? _She did care dearly for the both of them as good friends, so she imagined the sting of betrayal would be almost just as strong, though it still wasn't quite the same thing. Inuyasha killing her mother? Now _that _one would hurt, in a slightly different way, true, but it would be _bad_. Still, no matter how she stacked the deck, Kagome imagined that her honest, initial reaction would have included shock that would have immobilized her long enough for the other person to quickly rush out their explanation of how it had been a trick of Naraku's. Then she would have most likely felt torn, she was sure, warring with herself over what she'd just seen and what she was _sure _had been real, versus what the person she'd thought she knew and could trust was telling her and how desperately she would certainly want to believe them. But if Inuyasha had been the offender, would she have truly let him get a word in edgewise, or would she have immediately _osuwari'd _him until his back broke? Cringing, she took a quick mental inventory, looking back on all of the times she'd been so hair triggered with that blasted command. If the fight were severe enough, then slamming Inuyasha's face into the ground would have immediately preceded her borrowed use of Kirara – if they were too far away from the well for her to just walk there – and her subsequent departure into her own time.

_I'm sure I would __eventually__ calm down enough to want to at least hear him out, though_… she told herself then. Yes, even if she continued on believing in her heart that he had done whatever she thought he had, she would at least want to know _why_. That thought gave her a miniscule amount of hope, knowing that she and Inuyasha often thought _very _differently about some things. He was probably content to never see her again and immediately write off their friendship as if he never should have trusted her to begin with, but that kind of thinking would only make her sick and so she would cling onto whatever tiny particles of hope that she could find with white knuckles, never letting go. After all, even if _he _didn't care about finding out _why_, there was still the hope that Sango, Miroku and Kaede, and even little Shippou, would stay on his case about it until he conceded. Assuming they didn't run him out of town instead if he decided to hell with all of them, though she _really _didn't want to think about that possibility.

Kagome didn't know for how long she sat at the bottom of the well, her thoughts a jumbled mess as silent tears continued to stain her cheeks, but eventually deciding that it wasn't doing her any real amount of good to just sit there in the dirt, Kagome finally rose to her feet in that moment, dusting herself off with shaking hands. What should she tell the others? Obviously, she would have to tell them something to explain her unexpected return, but she quickly decided that she would leave as many of the details out for the time being as she could. There was no sense in upsetting her family, knowing they would only worry alongside her and that their worrying added to the mix would ultimately accomplish nothing. Perhaps she would confide in her mother, she had to tell _someone _or else the strain of keeping it all inside would probably drive her nuts, but her grandfather and Souta didn't need to know. She would just tell them that she and Inuyasha had had another fight and leave it at that; hopefully if he returned for her within the next few days or so then that's all they'd ever have to know.

Sighing, Kagome finally got her body moving again, reaching for the rope ladder she had long since installed on that side of the well. Slowly climbing her way out of the cold, lonely time portal, she swung first one leg and then the other over the edge until she was standing on the ground beside the well, remaining motionless for a moment longer as the darkness of the well-house consumed her, the faint strips of sunlight that leached in from between the wood beams in no way providing enough warmth to lift her spirit.

She was on the verge of losing it again. She needed to get a hold of herself.

_Must remain strong, must remain positive_…

Taking a moment then to wipe the tear marks from her face, Kagome counted to ten in a near silent whisper, doing her best to shake her anxiety free so that she could walk back into her family's home with her head held high. She would tell her mother the gist of what had happened in private, but she would not do so while crying hysterically. She didn't want them to know how serious it really was.

Taking a few steps towards the closed door of the well-house, Kagome was so startled by the well activating behind her that she nearly screamed, her hand rushing up to her chest as Inuyasha jumped out of the well, an almost frantic look in his eyes that gave her pause. For half a second, Kagome had very nearly rushed him, envisioning running up to him and leaping into his arms while crying in joy, because surely his arrival meant he'd realized the trick, right? And so soon…that was a good thing, wasn't it?

On the other hand, maybe not enough time had passed yet to realize the trick, and so therefore maybe he was just there to demand answers, now that he'd cooled off enough to not want to slice her head off at the very sight of her. The desperate, almost crazy look in his eyes didn't help her to decipher his thoughts any, unfortunately, and so visibly hesitating, she held back, wary of incurring his wrath.

Of course, Inuyasha immediately caught the way Kagome hesitated, the way her eyes had initially lit up with almost unbridled relief and joy until those emotions were suddenly torn away and replaced with trepidation. She was afraid of him, just as he had feared she would be…not that he could truly blame her for the reaction.

_I've cast enough blame on her shoulders for one day_… he thought passively, his ears immediately lowering to his head as he slumped his entire posture in what he hoped she would recognizes as a submissive stance.

Still, though, he knew he needed to say the _words_; she was staring at him like a frightened rabbit, her heart beating so fast he could hear it easily even with his ears buried down deep in his hair. He had to put a stop to it, now. Even though he was convinced her unwavering faith in him would forever be tarnished, he had to at least let her know that he now knew of her innocence in this matter; he was no longer the mad avenger out for blood.

"Kagome…" he started with an apologetic sigh, his eyes begging forgiveness. "I know you're inno-oomph!"

He never got to finish what was going to be a really heartfelt apology, never got to say the words that he was sorry or beg her aloud for the forgiveness he knew he didn't deserve, because as soon as the miko realized he wasn't there dangling from a single thread of patience to hear her side of the story before casting final judgment she gave into her original impulse and rushed him, leaping up into his arms with an almost crazy sounding laugh of relief, not a single trace of fear in her scent.

"Oh Inuyasha!" she cried softly, wanting to shout her joy from the rooftops but at the same time wanting to keep it down so that her family wouldn't come running out to see what all the yelling was about.

"I'm _so_ sorry." Kagome continued then, and Inuyasha gasped. Why the hell was _she _apologizing?

"_You're _sorry?" he asked in disbelief as he gently pushed her back from the hug enough to look into her eyes. "Fuck, Kagome, I…I can't even…"

"_I_ can't even imagine what it must have felt like for you to see what you saw, believing what you did." Kagome stated when his words lingered in the air for too long. "I _know_, Inuyasha, that Naraku made that puppet to fool you. I don't know how he did it, but I know you rely mostly on your nose and Naraku knows that too so somehow or another he made that puppet smell of Kikyou. I don't need to have your sense of smell myself to know that because he _told _me. That…that _thing _told me with a wicked smirk that 'only I' would be able to see through the illusion, that it was strong enough to fool you."

"How…" He swallowed. "How were you able to see through the illusion?"

Softening her eyes, Kagome relayed the little bit of information she'd never before shared with him, wondering why, now, she had ever thought it needed to be kept a secret.

"Because I can feel her in here, Inuyasha." she told him gently, raising her right had to the center of her chest. "She and I literally share the same soul; I can always feel it whenever Kikyou is near."

Inuyasha nodded slowly at that small bit of information, not having the emotional energy at the moment to feel embarrassed over the realization that Kagome must have known, then, the few times that he'd snuck off to see Kikyou when the undead miko had not blatantly made her presence known in their camp with the arrival of a shinidamachuu. A few times, though not many, Inuyasha had picked up Kikyou's scent and claimed to go 'scouting for danger' before running off, and he always wondered why Kagome would seem off for the next few days or so afterwards, having always been convinced that there was no way the others had known Kikyou was nearby since she had not summoned him with one of her demonic servants.

_Damn it all…but one disaster at a time, I'll apologize for sneaking off later, assuming she forgives me for believing her capable of murder_…

"Kagome, I…" he started again, and she smiled softly that time, remaining silent to let him continue as soon as he could untangle his tongue. "I _should _say I can never ask you to forgive me, because I know…I know I don't deserve it, but I'm going to ask anyway. Can you please…forgive me? I…don't expect you to really trust me after this, but I…I'm sorry. I have no excuse for turning on you so quickly."

Touched to the point of tears, Kagome shook her head gently and raised a hand to stop the one he hesitantly reached out to wipe the tears from her cheeks before then doing so herself. He looked hurt then, as if she hadn't wanted him touching her, but she just didn't want him guiltily trying to sooth away what were in truth tears of joy.

"Funny thing, trust." she murmured after a moment, and his ears sprang up from where they'd been buried below his hairline to make sure they didn't miss a single decibel of her reply.

"There are several different sayings that come to mind, one of the more famous ones being 'It can take years to build up trust, but only seconds to destroy it.' Some people add, 'and forever to repair it', but you know what, Inuyasha?"

His ears were flat once again as he asked her quietly, "What?" with a look in his eyes that was so close to 'beaten puppy' Kagome would have almost been tempted to laugh were the situation not so serious.

"There is another expression, one that I like better." she told him then, quoting Robert C. Solomon as she stated, "All trust involves vulnerability and risk, and nothing would count as trust if there were no possibility of betrayal."

"I don't…I don't understand…" he stated slowly, quietly, his eyes desperately searching hers for the meaning of her words. Did that mean she forgave him?

"It means, Inuyasha…" she replied with a gentle smile, "…that _nobody _can trust _anybody _without at least the faintest possibility existing that that person's trust might be betrayed. Otherwise, if there was no such thing as betrayal, if it was literally not possible, then you wouldn't be trusting them, the fact that they could not betray you would merely be fact and that would just be the way it was, end of story. Trust is the _belief _that they will not betray you when it is technically possible that they could do so, and I think you have a very good excuse for why you turned on me so quickly, your words, though the fact that you're here now tells me you haven't turned on me in the slightest."

"Oh yeah?" he asked with a hesitant smile, to which she smiled in turn before nodding and replying with, "Absolutely. Seeing what you saw? Smelled? There's no way you should _not _have believed it at first sight. And so okay, you didn't let me get a word in…" His ears lowered a bit at that, though he grinned a tiny bit with optimism at the way she chuckled slightly. "…but you were freakin' _pissed_." Kagome finished then, as if it were the easiest explanation in the world.

"Honestly," Kagome asked Inuyasha then, really wanting him to think about it, "How many times have you, or have I for that matter, not been willing to listen to reason right in that heat of the moment when we're all fired up?" Shrugging in what she hoped was a casual enough manner, Kagome confessed, "I know I'm guilty of running off without letting _you _explain _yourself_."

"How can you act so okay about everything?" he asked her after a moment, taken aback by her nonchalance. "I can smell your tears, Kagome. The well is drenched with them. And I can still remember the smell of…and the look of…fear in your scent and eyes. Fear of _me_. How can you not be devastated by what happened?"

"Because you came back, because you're here standing before me telling me you now know it had been a trick." she answered easily. "Believe me, I was definitely devastated thinking that you'd thought…what you'd thought."

"Go ahead, say it." he snapped, his anger directed inward. "I thought you were a _murderer_. I immediately believed that you were capable of something so horrible…something I should have _never _believed you could do."

"Inuyasha…" she spoke back up, her eyes forgiving but yet at the same time betraying the lingering wound his words now had rubbed raw. "Yes…okay? Yes, it stings, but I _do _understand. You've been on your own for a hell of a lot longer than you've known me or anyone else, and above all else it's imbedded within your very _core _that you have to trust _your _senses, your nose, your eyes, these you rely on to _survive_. Why would you believe your own nose to be a traitor over some girl from a foreign land you've only known for a few months?"

Inuyasha mumbled something in answer to that last part that was too quiet for Kagome's human ears to pick up.

"What?" she asked blankly, simply not having heard him.

"I said…" he spoke up a tiny bit louder, the dim lighting in the closed up well-house preventing Kagome from noticing the pink stains on his cheeks. "You're not just some girl."

"Oh…Inuyasha…" Kagome murmured at his quiet confession, closing the gap between them to wrap her arms around him once more. Unlike when she had rushed him earlier, he returned her embrace this time around with gentle acceptance, lovingly wrapping his arms around her instead of fumbling awkwardly to catch her as she threw herself at him.

"I forgive you…" she whispered then, and his arms around her back tightened. "Yes it hurt, but life has painful moments, and I _do _understand. It was a good trick, and had I witnessed something so real, I'm sure at first that I would have believed it, too. You and I are both hot heads so shouting at me right away to 'get the fuck out of your sight' was a perfectly reasonable reaction, under the circumstances."

He chuckled a little bit at her use of profanity, simply so relieved to know that she truly did forgive him for his quick judgment.

"But you know what?" she asked then, and he muttered a nonverbal grunt to acknowledge she could continue. "I think the fact that you're here with me now is proof that you didn't really turn against me so quickly. Yes you were angry, yes you chased me off, but just because you needed to cool down, I'd say. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you must have discussed everything with the others for a few minutes, right?"

He nodded against her at that, still remaining silent.

"Well, the fact that you actually spoke with them, that you actually _listened_, instead of just running off, just saying you knew what you saw and running off into the woods refusing to listen to possible arguments, that tells me that deep down inside, you weren't so ready to turn against me, after all. Yes, there was compelling evidence against me, but _something _must have clicked to make you realize the truth, and that tells me you were _looking _for it. If you'd so blindly accepted what you'd seen and smelled then you wouldn't have even bothered letting the others argue about it, you wouldn't have wanted to hear it, you wouldn't have accepted their possible explanations, and as a result you wouldn't have learned the truth, and you wouldn't be here now."

He pulled back from the hug again at that, blinking at her in stunned silence for a moment, wondering just how the hell she knew him so well. He confessed to her, then, just which details she had right and which ones she had wrong. He had been more stubborn in the beginning than her praising suggested, although it _was _true that he could have gotten fed up with the others and stormed off into the woods if he'd wanted to, which he hadn't. Maybe he would have, had no part of him been so very desperate to find a way to believe that what he'd seen hadn't been real. As argumentative with the others as he had been, that had only been because his nose and eyes had truly been the ones arguing; every time he would listen to what one of the others had to say his nose and eyes would speak back up again as well, whispering to him how he knew what he'd witnessed was truth, and that his friends' theories therefore must be false. A part of him really _had _been desperately hoping that the others could come up with an alternative explanation that made sense, something that wouldn't conflict with what his senses told him while at the same time clearing Kagome of guilt. And that miracle had come to pass in the end. They'd thought of and then verified Naraku's deception, even prior to the real Kikyou showing up, although of course even if they hadn't, then Naraku's trick certainly wouldn't have been very long lived once Kikyou made her appearance and revealed she was in fact still alive. Inuyasha was relieved to note Kagome's own relief as she learned her preincarnation was in fact, for the most part, unharmed.

When it was Kagome's turn to talk again, she told Inuyasha that when it really boiled down to it, the reason behind this deception of Naraku's had surely been to put a wedge, if not a permanent stone wall in the shape of a dry well, between the two of them, and so for that reason if for no other they could _not _let Naraku succeed. Instead of forever feeling violated, in a way, to have these imperfections of theirs exposed and thrown in their faces, they would instead learn from their mistakes and grow even stronger from admitting them.

Inuyasha surprised Kagome by voluntarily going first in that moment when he admitted that he still had some vulnerability issues buried deep down inside, the fear that nobody could ever possibly, truly think of him as an equal. He did believe, though, that Kagome would never have turned on him the way Kikyou supposedly had fifty years prior. Had Naraku tried to trick him the same way as before he would have known something was up, which was clearly why the dark hanyou had chosen this route instead. Inuyasha _did _trust Kagome, which was why it had been so devastating, so utterly crippling to force his mind to accept what he'd thought _had _to have been real, despite how horrible it was to accept. If he had honestly harbored even a minor paranoia in the back of his head that Kagome wasn't to be trusted around Kikyou then he wouldn't have been so completely shell-shocked from witnessing the heinous act.

Kagome in turn confided in Inuyasha that she did _not _fear him, not really, but relented at the same time that nobody in their right mind should stay put when a being with fangs and claws was _demanding _with said claws raised that you leave, _now_. Yes, for that split second she had felt fear, of him, but just like he had been horrified by what he'd seen and thought to be the truth, almost irrational anger pouring to the surface as a result, so too had she reacted merely on instinct to the sight of a demonic man growling at her with claws raised. She assured him that she did not honestly believe that he would have harmed her, that she had in fact felt for herself that he hadn't been charging up his youki for a demonic attack, not that he would _need _to use his youki to hurt her, she admitted reluctantly. In the heat of the moment a simple slap could easily prove fatal if he didn't pull his punch, and how could she rightfully expect that he would never resort to physical violence regardless of how pissed off he became when she herself used physical violence in the form of the rosary command? Not to mention the time she'd clobbered him on the head with a rock…and then there were the times _he_ hit _Shippou, _or squished Myouga, or got riled up to the point of violence by Kouga or Sesshoumaru's taunting even though they weren't really enemies…so the instinct to lash out with a fist definitely existed within the hanyou's psyche as well.

So yes, she had feared him, but only for a second, until she'd had the time to think about it logically and realize that he was just angry, like anybody would have a right to be under such conditions. And so yes, he had believed her capable of murder, after _witnessing _her murder somebody. She had been the real her, after all. Kagome _had _charged a being with her dagger, she _had _plunged its glowing blade deep into the creature's chest, and she _had _done so with the intention of killing it. Kagome _was _capable of…she wouldn't say 'murder' but 'killing' most definitely…absolutely she was capable of killing when it was one of their enemies. He just hadn't known, at first, that the 'person' he'd witnessed her take out in cold blood had in fact been an enemy. So in the miko's mind they had both reacted rather normally, under the circumstances, and she could most definitely forgive Inuyasha for trusting the nose and eyes he'd been born with, the nose and eyes that had kept him safe for over a century, versus blindly and maybe even irrationally accepting the word of a girl he hadn't known for very long, regardless of how he felt about her.

"If you can honestly forgive me for this, then I…I forgive you for anything and everything you've ever done that pissed me off." Inuyasha stated then with a tiny hint of a chuckle, and Kagome laughed as well, knowing there could actually be quite a few things on that list.

"I just hope you can forgive me for fearing you, even for the slightest second. I _don't _fear you, Inuyasha, not really." she stated softly, reaching for his right hand with her left and placing the palm of his hand on her left cheek, his claws mere inches from her eye. She did that for two reasons, to show him that she didn't _fear _his touch, but also to show him that she wasn't _disgusted _by his touch, either, because those were two very different emotions and she was certain he harbored concerns for both.

"It bothers the hell out of me that you feared me, even for that split second, but it's _you _who needs to forgive _me_, Kagome, for _making _you fear me. Like you said, only an idiot wouldn't run when a beast with claws is coming after 'em."

"I never called you a beast." she scolded lightly, his hand still on her cheek. She wondered vaguely if he'd noticed that she'd removed her own hand from holding his there, that he was keeping his hand on her cheek by himself at that point. She wouldn't remove it. "But yes, if you need to hear the words, yes, I forgive you for that part, too. I forgive you for _everything _with regard to this horrible event."

Inhaling slowly through his nose, Inuyasha closed his eyes, savoring the scent of _honesty _that was coming off of Kagome as she declared her forgiveness. Naraku had tried to make him attack her, or maybe just get him to the point of pissed that he'd reached so that Kagome would at least think him capable of attacking her, but they both knew he could never have harmed her. The worst Inuyasha was sure he would _ever _be capable of doing if his anger were directed towards Kagome herself would be to take it out on something inanimate, like a nearby tree; he would _never _take his wrath out directly on Kagome…at least not with his claws. He could definitely attack her with words, which he had done both during this incident as well as several times in the past, although what he'd said today was definitely the champion of cruelty. He recalled with unwanted clarity what he had said to her today and his heart lurched at the reminder of the insults she herself hadn't even brought up yet.

"I…I didn't mean it, either, when I said what I said about you being Kikyou's copy." he murmured quietly, feeling like he couldn't let that subject go unmentioned.

Smiling sadly, Kagome raised her hand back up to his hand on her cheek then, patting his hand softly before holding it in place so that she could turn her head to the side enough to kiss the palm of his hand. His eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't pull his hand away.

"Yes you did…" she whispered softly. "…but if I truly had murdered Kikyou in cold blood, as you'd thought I had, then you would have been right." she relented understandingly. "When I said I forgave you for everything regarding this incident, I meant _everything_, insults and all. Please, Inuyasha…" she beseeched, "…don't let it consume you. Let it go. Yes I would have been devastated, probably for the rest of my life, if I never saw you again, but you _came back _for me, less than an hour after it happened. As far as I'm concerned I'm good to go, then, knowing that Naraku's trick wasn't successful. But in order to make sure it _really _wasn't successful, that means we can't let ourselves stay bothered by it, either. Everything that happened was _Naraku's _doing, Inuyasha, and if we let it get to us, even just a little bit, then that's letting _him _succeed."

His eyes opened slightly in understanding as what she said made perfect sense. Gently removing his hand from her cheek, then, Inuyasha blushed a little at the feel of his palm still tingling in the aftereffects of her unexpected kiss, the heat in his own cheeks getting warmer as he caught the sound of her light giggling, Kagome having caught sight of his embarrassment and thinking it cute, but despite himself he didn't harden up again under the scrutiny of her amusement. Instead of brushing it off with his wall firmly back in place, he offered her a shy smile, and then did something that had _Kagome _blushing…he leaned forward and lightly kissed the cheek he'd previously been cupping with his hand. Kagome raised her own hand up to her cheek after he pulled back, a look of shock in her eyes, but also tentative hopefulness.

"Keh, told ya you weren't just some girl, didn't I?"

"Inuyasha…" she murmured, completely awestruck.

"I really fucked up this time, Kagome, but at least I'm man enough to admit it." he continued to apologize, reaching forward with both of his hands to cup her own, bringing her hands forward to pin against his chest. "But I would never, _could _never have actually struck you down for killing Kikyou. Assuming you couldn't have gone through the well I probably woulda just run off myself or something to cool off, gone off into the woods like you said, but no matter _what_, I will _never _harm you with my hands. I can't promise my mouth won't spout off hurtful shit from time to time, but if I ever actually lost it and killed you like Kikyou thought I'd killed her then you wouldn't have to worry about coming back as a ghost to seek your revenge because I would follow you into Hell myself."

"Careful, don't double-book yourself." Kagome murmured quietly, cringing as soon as the words were out.

_Jeeze, that was a low blow, Kagome_… she scolded herself, already opening her mouth to apologize before Inuyasha, who amazingly didn't look offended, beat her to it.

"I know I've said I'm willing to follow Kikyou into Hell, if that is what she needs in the end to appease her soul, but the truth is, I don't want to die, Kagome. You have to realize that…that it wouldn't really be my _choice _if I did go with her, I'm honor bound. But damn it, you're more important to me than that. If I went nuts, going full-youkai and striking you down without realizing it, you better fucking _believe _it would be _your _soul I would sacrifice myself to as penance. Genuine betrayal trumps the illusion of betrayal. As soon as I came to my senses the first thing I'd do is fall on Tessaiga…unless I knew Naraku or someone else had been directly involved in some way, using me as their pawn. In that case the first thing I'd do is make them suffer the slowest, most miserable death I could conceive of for them, and then I'd fall on Tessaiga."

Kagome blinked, almost in shock from the vehement promise in Inuyasha's eyes, and she didn't try to tug her hands free from the way he still held them both pinned against his chest. She could feel the pounding of his heart, and wondered if he could hear the fact that her own heart was beating just as frantically. The words _you're more important to me _were playing in her head over and over again in a loop, and while she knew he meant that if he killed her then going to Hell to be with _her _would take president over going to Hell to be with _Kikyou_, whom he hadn't killed, it was still _something_. Plus he had also said that he didn't want to die, admitting he didn't really want to go with Kikyou into Hell at all, and the little words _if that is what she needs in the end _gave her hope that, when the time finally came, her preincarnation would no longer require Inuyasha's sacrifice to appease her soul. After all, Kikyou had tried to drag Inuyasha into Hell with her before she'd learned of Naraku's existence, believing, just as Inuyasha had initially believed what he'd witnessed on this day, that he _must _have been the one who'd cut her down, because surely there was no one else capable of wearing Inuyasha's body. Now, though, now that Kikyou knew that Inuyasha had never really betrayed her all those years ago, now that she knew Naraku was to blame, and how ultimately Naraku's very existence could at least in part be considered her doing – Inuyasha certainly hadn't had anything to do with Naraku's creation – then there was absolutely no reason, in Kagome's mind, why Kikyou should still desire dragging Inuyasha into Hell after their mission was completed. She knew that now was not the time to bring up such things, though. She would remember Inuyasha's words, the _good _words, and she would carry with her always the shining beacon of hope that they'd lit in her heart. Besides, he'd also _kissed _her, and admitted that she wasn't just 'some girl' to him. If things ended up blossoming between them as a result of this day, from a butterfly effect of wanting to assure one another what they truly meant to each other, then, Kagome mentally snickered, she just might owe Naraku her thanks the next time she saw him.

"I am truly honored," Kagome finally spoke up then, choosing to use that word on purpose because even though she was from the 21st century, she did in fact know how important the concept of honor was to a man like Inuyasha. "I honestly believe it will never be an issue, though, because even in your full-youkai form you have never harmed me."

He snorted a laugh.

"That's only 'cause you've got this." he admitted, releasing her left hand to use his right to gently tug on the rosary he wore. "I would've demanded you remove this thing a long ass time ago if it weren't for the fact that I can lose my mind. I wish you wouldn't use it as often as you do to spank me like a bratty kid if I do some crap you don't like, but that's a small price to pay for the security in knowing you can stop my murderous rampages. And if the rosary ever breaks, then shoot me in the leg with an arrow or something. As long as it's not a fatal shot for a human then your arrow wouldn't kill me, just turn me mortal for a little while, then once my youki came back the wound from the arrow itself would heal right up."

She crinkled her nose in obvious distaste over such harsh instructions, although reluctantly Kagome did have to admit that should Inuyasha theoretically be on a murderous rampage, then shooting him in the leg or arm with a purifying arrow would definitely be the lesser of two evils if the other option was to not stop him and let him continue to slaughter mindlessly. Of course, that was _only _of the rosary broke, which she didn't even think would ever happen, although she quickly prayed in that moment that such a scenario where she could possibly find that out the hard way would never come to pass in the first place.

"Okay well…whatever." she stated then with what she hoped was a nonchalant enough looking shrug, her right hand still pinned to his chest by his left. "That's all hypothetical anyway, so no sense in worrying about it as if it might actually happen, but yes…I'd comply with your wishes." she added when he opened his mouth to argue.

Smiling then, Inuyasha offered the hand he still held a gentle squeeze before finally letting her go.

"Come on, let's head back. The others are probably worrying themselves silly with all sorts of what-ifs." he stated as he gestured to the well.

"I'm ready if you are." Kagome agreed with a warm smile, daring something she normally wouldn't have had the courage to do as she briefly reached her right hand up and gave his left ear a playful tweak.

"You aren't just some boy to me either, you know." she confessed shyly.

"Yeah…" he admitted with a crooked smile. "I know."

With that he scooped Kagome up into his arms bridal style and launched the two of them together down the well and back into the past. Upon emerging on his side of time he quickly rushed Kagome back to Kaede's hut, where everyone, including Kikyou, was waiting as patiently as they could to learn the end results of Naraku's trickery. Everyone was visibly relieved when Inuyasha and Kagome entered the hut together, and under the circumstances Kikyou's presence didn't even bother Kagome as she expressed her genuine gratitude that the elder miko had survived her encounter with Naraku unharmed. Kikyou in turn expressed her own genuine relief that Naraku's trick had not been successful; while it was true that she was somewhat jealous of her reincarnation at times with regard to how close Kagome and Inuyasha had grown to one another, even Kikyou could admit that the woman-child was an important person to Inuyasha, not to mention an important person in the fight against Naraku. As time went on Kikyou was becoming less bitter than she used to be, gradually losing the hatred she had been created with, and while the darker part of her could still admit that she would find satisfaction should Kagome choose on her own that she did not belong there, leaving their world and Inuyasha forever, Kikyou did not want such a departure on Kagome's part to be Naraku's doing.

Taking her leave then, because she knew the dead had no business interacting with the living, Kikyou left everyone else to their own devices in that moment, satisfied to know that Naraku's plan to destroy Inuyasha's spirit had failed. Inuyasha and Kagome were surely bound to grow even closer together now as a result, and while that happenstance might be unfortunate for her, it would ultimately be what led to Naraku's demise. Of that she was certain.

Back with Kaede and the others, Miroku, Sango, Kaede and Shippou each took their turns expressing their tremendous relief that so many horrible things that _could _have happened from this trick did in fact _not _happen, and that in the end they had ultimately survived what they would consider a test on Naraku's part. Inuyasha vowed with all sincerity that he would not be so quick to anger in the future, at least to the point where he would refuse to allow one of his friends who had supposedly done something unimaginable to explain themselves. At the same time, every member of the inu-tachi vowed that they would never allow any sort of trickery on Naraku's part to tear them apart, and that even if temporary misunderstands such as this one did take place again in the future, they would all forgive one another without prejudice once the deception was revealed. They would nether permit their minds to cling onto even the smallest remnants of distrust, nor hold a grudge against a friend who might have temporarily distrusted them. In order to defeat Naraku they _had _to stay united, no matter what, because everyone knew Naraku's ultimate goal, the way he loved to fight his battles the most, was to tear people apart from the inside out, turning friends against one another.

Once that discussion was settled, Miroku and Sango agreed to give the poor mystery woman's remains a proper burial. Fortunately, because of the strong scent of graveyard soil, it was unanimously agreed that Naraku had merely desecrated a grave to attain her bones; no innocent woman had been killed to pose as Kikyou's corpse. There was of course the matter of those souls that had vacated the false Kikyou's body once Kagome had destroyed it, but there was little that could be done for whomever Kanna had collected as sacrifices for the light show, and at least they could find solace in the knowledge that each of the souls had floated peacefully up towards the heavens. Those people had clearly not been tortured before their souls had been captured, if the souls themselves had been untortured and therefore able to find peace. So few of Naraku's victims met with such peaceful ends. That was at least _something _to find comfort in, the inu-tachi relented. They wondered with a sense of foreboding what would be Naraku's next move if and when he learned his master plan had been a failure, but no matter what the dark hanyou threw at them next, they would be ready. Their trust in each other would never be broken.

~ Fin ~


End file.
